The awesome power of questions — 10 methods and more
This article contains 10 ways of questioning which I have found productive for several purposes: as a prompt to reflection, to evaluate new features, to dissect problems, understand root causes, to create a certain mindset.. and more. You’ll find notes and links to further reading at the end of the article.
If you go to a dictionary and look up “question”, you might find something like this definition: “a question is a sentence worded or expressed so as to elicit information”. But isn’t that a cold and functionalist way of looking at language? As if a question were a database query where you simply elicit information, and it is delivered to you?
Bollocks to that!
Questions are so much more than mere requests for information — they are tools we can use to guide and focus our thinking, to spark new questions, to reflect, and much more. That’s what this article is about — please forgive me for making it a bit long, but there is just so much to read and write about this topic. Now here are ten ways of questioning to illustrate just how much questions can do:
1. “How might we..?”
Is good for: prompting divergent, creative and collaborative thinking.
HMW questions are maybe a bit “hyped” these days, but they are also pretty great for stimulating ideas! An example question could be how might we help homeless people in our city? The way this question has been worded suggests three things: 1) there is more than one way to help the homeless, 2) it is not about providing a correct answer, but about coming up with ideas … not what we should do, but what we might do, and 3) it is something we will do together. HMW questions are a great way to frame an issue in such a way that it gets people thinking divergently, creatively and collaboratively.
“Questions are the engines of intellect — cerebral machines that convert curiosity into controlled inquiry” [1]
2. “What if…?”
Is good for: letting people explore fictional scenarios, without passing judgement. This helps generate plans for dealing with what might happen — or indeed to generate ideas for making the fictional scenario real.
The U.S. military uses what-if questions to generate contingency plans — to be prepared if something conceivable happens. For example: What if North Korea actually does possess a nuclear weapon and uses it to attack another country? A question like that opens up many avenues of thinking which can be used to prepare for such a scenario.
Businesses can use what-if questions for the same purpose — to be prepared for changes in the market, new legislation, new technologies, changes in the company’s partnerships, etc. For example: what if Apple stores will no longer sell our [fictional product]? This generates new questions, such as How will we cope with the loss of revenue and prestige? Why did Apple not wish to do business with us anymore? etc.
Randall Munroe (of XKCD-fame) answers fan-submitted what-if questions, and explores what would happen in scenarios such as “What would happen if one tried to funnel Niagara Falls through a straw?” — with some rather entertaining conclusions. (Find the answer to that particular what-if question here)
A final example is the method actor Stanislavski, who used what-if questions (he called them “magic ifs”) to enable actors to discover new and interesting things about the character they are playing [2]. What if the character’s father was violent? What if the father died while young? Questions such as these prompt ideation about the character, and enables actors to explore and elaborate it.
3. “Have I done my best to…?”
Is good for: reflecting on your own effort, as a way to improve yourself.
For example, you might ask have I done my best to say or do something nice for my girlfriend today? When framed this way, it prompts reflection about the effort you made during the day. Whatever you did, was it the best you could do?
It is different from asking what have you done for your girlfriend today? (I complimented her hair) or did you do something nice for your girlfriend today? (yes), because it makes you reflect on your effort, rather than the result. Was complimenting her hair the best you could have said or done for her today? If not, what could you do better tomorrow? It is not difficult to do — once you start asking yourself these questions, it becomes painfully obvious where you could improve. [3]
4. “The 5 Why’s”
Is good for: finding the root cause of an issue
This well-known technique is sometimes called by other names such as “root cause analysis” or “why-why-why”. The method is simple: it basically just involves asking “why” until you get to the root cause of whatever issue you are asking about … or until it becomes too awkward :) Of course, things are never quite that simple when the rubber hits the road — there may be multiple root causes, for example.
Why does it work? Well — a “why” question can be perceived as a provocation and a challenge to authority. By having a formalised, proven technique (which originated in Toyota’s manufacturing as a problem-finding activity) it becomes less provoking. It is easier to frame your questioning in a way other people can understand and accept, if your method has a name, and has been proven to work.
“Questions are flashlights that shine a light on where you need to go” [1]
5. “10/10/10”
Is good for: reflecting about short-, mid- and long-term consequences.
This one is a favourite of mine — the method involves asking yourself how you will feel about a decision 10 minutes from now, 10 months from now, and 10 years from now. It is a way to distance yourself from the “now”, and consider effects across the short, mid, and long-term.
A made-up example: Should I quit my current job, where I’m not happy? — well let’s consider the consequences! 10 minutes after handing in my resignation, I would be insecure about the future, but elated and happy that I made the decision to quit! 10 months from now: I would probably be in another, better job. 10 years from now: I think I would probably be doing something i like. In the big picture though, my family matters more to me than my job, so over a 10-year period… who cares? It’s just a job.
6. “Power questions”
Is good for: putting yourself into a particular mindset, to prepare for the day or an event.
Tony Robbins asks himself questions every morning, to put himself in the state of mind he wants to be in for the day. Robbins calls them “power questions”. A few examples are: “What am I happy about in my life right now? What about that makes me happy? How does that make me feel?”. They are questions that prompt reflection about happiness, gratitude, pride, love, excitement, enjoyment, and love. Through this process, he reminds himself — every day — that he has a thousand good things going for him, which is a great way to put yourself in a positive, grateful state of mind.
In the evening, he uses another set of questions to evaluate the day. He asks himself how he has given during the day, and what he has learnt — as a way to reflect about the day. For more about these questions, see [4].
“One good question can give rise to several layers of answers, can inspire decade-long searches for solutions, can generate whole new fields of inquiry” [1]
7. “Phoenix Checklist”
Is good for: thorough and structured problem analysis
The CIA have developed a series of questions that lets you “hold your challenge in your hand. You can turn it, look at it from underneath, see it from one view, hold it up to another position, imagine solutions, and really be in control of it”. You can find the questions here, or check [5]
8. “Feature evaluation questions”
Is good for: evaluating whether a feature should be included into a product’s backlog or sprint.
Just like the Phoenix Checklist, this series of questions is a thorough and structured way to approach an issue — in this case, evaluating a new feature.
9. “Self-analysis questions”
Is good for: evaluating yourself
Napoleon Hill, in the book “Think and Grow Rich” [6] put forth a number of questions which can help you reflect on your character, performance, personality, etc. If you’re on a self-development quest, something like this would be worth taking a look at.
10. “Deborah Meier’s 5 critical thinking questions”
Is good for: aiding the development of critical thinking skills
Meier worked in a beat-up school in Harlem, where she instituted a teaching philosophy revolving around 5 learning skills or habits of mind, each accompanied by questions. These habits of mind are: Evidence — How do we know what’s true or false? What evidence counts? Viewpoint — How might this look if we stepped into other shoes, or looked at it from a different direction? Connection — Is there a pattern? Have we seen something like this before? Conjecture — What if it were different? Relevance — Why does this matter? [1]
Meier found that her method worked wonders, since it led to her students being vastly more engaged in the things they were studying.
Wrapping up
Across all of the 10 methods I’ve outlined above, it seems there is a common denominator: reflection. Not extraction of information, but generating new information, through the power of guided / focused reflection.
Early in the article, I quoted this: “Questions are the engines of intellect — cerebral machines that convert curiosity into controlled inquiry” — it’s hard to say it with more elegance than this, so I won’t make the attempt. Instead, I will just elaborate that controlled inquiry means we can design our questions to inquire in different ways, about different things.
We can use questions to create divergence (what if?) and convergence (how?), we can vary the scope of a question, we can improve our questions by opening and closing them, and by asking meta-questions. We can engage in question-storming rather than brainstorming! For more details about all of this, I would suggest that you read the excellent book “A more Beautiful Question: The Power of Inquiry to spark Breakthrough Ideas”.
Thanks for reading , if you got this far! :) I realise this was maybe a little long, dry and theoretical, but I believe it is important in a changing world to be able to ask good questions. Answers are boring — they close things down, and make things static. Questions do the reverse: they generate possibilities!
Thanks for reading!
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Notes
- Berger, W. (2014). A more beautiful question: The power of inquiry to spark breakthrough ideas. Bloomsbury Publishing USA.
- The Stanislavski Method
- Goldsmith, M., & Reiter, M. (2015). Triggers: Creating behavior that lasts — becoming the person you want to be. Crown Business.
- Robbins, T. (2012). Notes from a friend: a quick and simple guide to taking charge of your life. Simon and Schuster.
- The CIA’s Phoenix Checklist
- Hill, Napoleon. (2007). Think and grow rich. Hachette UK.
Further reading
- Michalko, M. (2010). Thinkertoys: A handbook of creative-thinking techniques. Ten Speed Press.
- Sawyer, K. (2013). Zig Zag: the surprising path to greater creativity. John Wiley & Sons.
- Knapp, J., Zeratsky, J., & Kowitz, B. (2016). Sprint: how to solve big problems and test new ideas in just five days. Simon and Schuster.
- The Right Question Institute (this article has a short write-up)
