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Back in 1999, I spent some time working as a consultant during the build-up to Y2K. (DON’T get me started!) My role was to help evaluate our clients’ “physical” facilities, including manufacturing plants, equipment, or buildings. The change of pace for me was exciting – virtually all of my previous experience had been with engineering/design firms and this was my first “consulting” job.

I quickly discovered the first and hardest task in dealing with our clients was during the initial investigation phase of the engagement. The challenge: getting useful data to work with. This, of course, meant asking questions. But not just any questions – I had to carefully craft them in such a way that the respondent would share not just the facts, but also the context. In other words, I wanted them to tell me a story.

What actually triggered this post was an article by Abhay Padgaonkar at Marketing Profs titled, “Telling Ain’t Selling”. I know, I know, the article is about selling, but what caught my eye was this quote about how well-crafted questions can enhance the selling process.

“If telling isn’t selling, then what is? What actions can one take to break the vicious cycle and not to generate an undesirable, equal and opposite reaction? Counterintuitive as it sounds, the more successful salespeople are those that ask the most questions. Not just any questions, but smart questions posed in a systematic way.”

What makes a smart question? Well, a key element can be found in a posting by Shawn Callahan over at Anecdote titled, “Telling Stories for a Living”. In this post about story-telling and its value to business, Shawn provides a few guidelines in the segment on “Finding Stories” that illustrate what I’m trying to get at.

“Learn to ask anecdote-eliciting questions like, “Tell me when you’ve felt great about your work. What happened?” Avoid story-phobic questions such as, “Why do we do things this way?” or “What is the best approach to this problem?” This type of question results in people justifying their actions using analysis, facts and logic—not stories. Anecdotes flow when we help people remember a particular time, when they can picture a specific situation. “When” and “where” questions are most effective.”

The most complete answers will usually come from questions that tap into a person’s feelings and emotions. Instead of asking something like, “What time did that happen?” which will likely generate a simple answer like, “two-thirty,” you might try asking, “How do you know what time it was when that happened?” The latter form might give the respondent the chance to say, “Well, I had an appointment with Fred at two o’clock, and had just left him and was walking down the hallway when it happened.” Notice how the context provides much more detail.

Granted, some people are more “close” than others (being an engineer, I tend toward the “just the facts” end of the spectrum). But that just means you have to try a little harder. Everybody has a story to tell – you just have to find the right question.

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