the difference in the world. What is hard to realize is that this is often of our own doing. How many times have you been surprised to learn of a turn of events and then asked your employees “Why didn’t you tell me that?” only to have them reply “You didn’t ask me.” Since it is illegal to strangle them when they say something like that, thCurt and Justin were lifelong fishing buddies. Now, in their retirement, they had together taken up the art of do-it-yourself home-improvers. Curt decided to tackle wallpapering his living room. When he finished the job, he proudly called his friend over to see his handiwork. Justin was very impressed. In fact, he liked it so much, he asked his buddy if he would mind if he got the same wallpaper for his living room. Their homes were practically identical in size and layout. Curt thought that was a great idea. So Justin asked him how many rolls of wallpaper he bought for the job. Seven was the reply.

Justin went right to work and when he finished, called his buddy over to his house. “Ah, man, that looks really good”, said Curt. Then Justin said to his friend: “But you know, Curt, it’s a funny thing; our living rooms are the same size, but I had two rolls of wallpaper left over! How come that?” To which Curt replied: “You, too? That’s exactly what I had left over!”

Poor Justin; he asked his friend the wrong question. What he should have asked was not how many rolls of wallpaper Curt bought for the job, but how many rolls of wallpaper he had to use for the job.

Knowing the right questions to ask can have a dramatic effect on our success. Not having good information or not getting the answers we need in doing our jobs can make all the difference in the world. What is hard to realize is that this is often of our own doing. How many times have you been surprised to learn of a turn of events and then asked your employees “Why didn’t you tell me that?” only to have them reply “You didn’t ask me.” Since it is illegal to strangle them when they say something like that, the

d his buddy if he would mind if he got the same wallpaper for his living room. Their homes were practically identical in size and layout. Curt thought that was a great idea. So Justin asked him how many rolls of wallpaper he bought for the job. Seven was the reply.

Justin went right to work and when he finished, called his buddy over to his house. “Ah, man, that looks really good”, said Curt. Then Justin said to his friend: “But you know, Curt, it’s a funny thing; our living rooms are the same size, but I had two rolls of wallpaper left over! How come that?” To which Curt replied: “You, too? That’s exactly what I had left over!”

Poor Justin; he asked his friend the wrong question. What he should have asked was not how many rolls of wallpaper Curt bought for the job, but how many rolls of wallpaper he had to use for the job.

Knowing the right questions to ask can have a dramatic effect on our success. Not having good information or not getting the answers we need in doing our jobs can make all the difference in the world. What is hard to realize is that this is often of our own doing. How many times have you been surprised to learn of a turn of events and then asked your employees “Why didn’t you tell me that?” only to have them reply “You didn’t ask me.” Since it is illegal to strangle them when they say something like that, th

to his house. “Ah, man, that looks really good”, said Curt. Then Justin said to his friend: “But you know, Curt, it’s a funny thing; our living rooms are the same size, but I had two rolls of wallpaper left over! How come that?” To which Curt replied: “You, too? That’s exactly what I had left over!”

Poor Justin; he asked his friend the wrong question. What he should have asked was not how many rolls of wallpaper Curt bought for the job, but how many rolls of wallpaper he had to use for the job.

Knowing the right questions to ask can have a dramatic effect on our success. Not having good information or not getting the answers we need in doing our jobs can make all the difference in the world. What is hard to realize is that this is often of our own doing. How many times have you been surprised to learn of a turn of events and then asked your employees “Why didn’t you tell me that?” only to have them reply “You didn’t ask me.” Since it is illegal to strangle them when they say something like that, th

e wrong question. What he should have asked was not how many rolls of wallpaper Curt bought for the job, but how many rolls of wallpaper he had to use for the job.

Knowing the right questions to ask can have a dramatic effect on our success. Not having good information or not getting the answers we need in doing our jobs can make all the difference in the world. What is hard to realize is that this is often of our own doing. How many times have you been surprised to learn of a turn of events and then asked your employees “Why didn’t you tell me that?” only to have them reply “You didn’t ask me.” Since it is illegal to strangle them when they say something like that, th

the difference in the world. What is hard to realize is that this is often of our own doing. How many times have you been surprised to learn of a turn of events and then asked your employees “Why didn’t you tell me that?” only to have them reply “You didn’t ask me.” Since it is illegal to strangle them when they say something like that, the best course is to figure out how to avoid such communication traps.

The secret weapon of power negotiators is being skilled in asking questions. Why? One of the reasons is that questions get the communication going and encourages the other party to talk, to share information with you. And what you are always, always looking for is information, particularly something you do not know. Even when you think you know the answers, get in the habit of asking questions; at the least, it will confirm your knowledge. And if you have somehow missed asking the really right question, the answer you need will likely come out the more the other party is forced to talk and you are talking less.

Of course, we are not talking here about hard interrogation. There is a difference between asking relevant questions and the demanding, rat-a-tat-tat fire of interrogation, as if you were the chief of police. Such action can rank anywhere from offensive to intimidating. And you don’t want to put people on the defensive. Asking a question like “How could you possibly have made that mistake?” will solve nothing. The person will just feel compelled to defend his actions. Something like “What do we need to do to avoid this happening again?” is more likely to get you the answers you need. Your goal is to make sure people are comfortable about opening up and commun