Superpower: Questions and Better Questions Without Talking Down
Superpower: Questions and Better Questions Without Talking Down
Is a ‘questionologist’ really a thing?
Do you remember ten years ago? What was your life like in 2014? Were you working or retired? Were you in the same job you had the past 10 years or going through career transitions? Were family members and friends still living who are no longer alive today?
Ten years ago Barack Obama was President, the Apple phone was 7 years old and the Blackberry phone was on the way to extinction 7 years later. We got a wake-up call for our superpowers from Warren Berger with his book A More Beautiful Question: The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas.
Berger created the identity for himself as a questionologist. Because he devoted most of his life and professional practice to the art and science of asking questions as the strategic key to unlocking depths of understanding and innovation, he earned the right to ask the question: Is questionologist really a thing?
Ten years ago was before a global pandemic and I was still going to airports for travel to national conventions where a board of directors and industry leaders would sequester for days to force-feed a strategic planning golden goose with their richest thoughts. The one voice that made sense in all of my consulting engagements from 2014 onward was Berger who said “You can brainstorm and whiteboard all you want, but without the right questions, those activities will bear little fruit.”
Fast Forward Four Years To Discover Your Superpower
Do you remember how much your life, your work, and your worldview changed by 2018? For Berger, the changes were so big that he published the next book The Book of Beautiful Questions: The Powerful Questions That Will Help You Decide, Create, Connect, and Lead
As a journalist and communication master for decades of storytelling assignments, I found these words from Berger in 2018 shifted the emphasis to superpowers. He said “Back in my newspaper reporting days, I used to wonder why some other journalists I knew didn’t seem to pay much attention to the questions they asked. Their questions were often obvious. Sometimes they asked closed questions when they should have been asking open ones. And the tone they used when inquiring ranged from bored to accusatory (not the best way to get someone talking).”
What if you believe that questions are better than you talking, on and on? What if you believe that you never learn anything if you are doing the talking? What if you want to know what the better questions might be and if Berger can help you fast forward to discover your superpower? The good news is Berger published an updated 10th anniversary edition of his 2014 book and included an index of more than 50 different types of questions discussed in the book—in alpha order, from actionable question and appreciative inquiry through the W’s of “what if” questions and worst-case scenario questions.
Fast Forward to 2024 and the Big Shift from Knowledge to Transformation
We were deep in the information age ten years ago.
And just like that, with mind-blowing shifts in technology, culture, brain science, and communication, here we are, learning how to ask questions to make ChatGPT do our bidding and looking for better questions to finally get to the meaning of life issues that showed up after we worked on the happiness questions, success questions, and environmental crisis questions.
The information age is so yesterday and now we are in the age of transformation, wisdom, and discovery of the real you. The new currency is knowing what your gifts are and learning, for sure, which few people out of millions of tire kickers, want to find you and your gifts. Transformation coaches are popping up like weeds after a spring rain and the better question on the table is this: What good is years of gathering and hyperlinking so much information without someone to talk with? What good is too much information without better questions?
Other questions you may be asking this year are these:
Is there such a thing as media malpractice? If the Fox News guy calls himself a journalist and doesn't shut up, where are the better questions? Can we agree that freedom of the press is precious and when you become a propaganda machine, that is no longer free press?
Is there such a thing as customer malpractice? How extensive is your customer research, daily metrics for your newsletter, or finger on the pulse? Have you completed your diagnosis of your customer or reader’s next question before prescribing? Instead, did you write another article or post without spending 2X or 10X as much time interviewing, listening, and asking better questions?
A Third Book to Help You With Your Superpower
If wisdom and transformation point the path forward for the rest of your life and the future of your business, then it’s time for The Art of the Question: A Guide for Seekers, Dreamers, Problem Solvers, and Leaders by Sean Grace.
At last, we have a blend of theory, practical advice, and real-world examples to guide readers on how to harness the power of questions to improve communication, resolve conflicts, solve problems, foster innovation, and enhance collaboration. This speaks to all we are learning from brain science about the power each of us has by bringing together the elements of curiosity, self-awareness, critical thinking creativity, compassion, and empathy through the power of questions.
Grace has a long career in media, advertising, and the creative arts. He studied music performance at the Juilliard School and finance at Wharton. He resonates well with professionals, communicators, and gifted adults, all of whom share Grace’s experience, knowledge, and passion for creative communication, learning, leadership, and talent development with exceptional clients, partners, and collaborators.
The past and future of better communication is in storytelling. Not articles, but stories. The more we add artificial intelligence into the mix, the greater the value of authentic, real, and narratives.
Grace honors the work Berger did, then shifts towards a more holistic and nuanced approach to questioning as a dynamic interpersonal skill. Grace focuses on the mechanics and emotional dynamics of questioning, with attention to how questions facilitate deep listening, emotional intelligence, and conflict resolution.
Again, how do you know you advanced from the information age and have found your superpowers in the wisdom and transformation age? This happened when you entered a more interconnected, collaboration-centric world, where the art of asking questions is as much about fostering understanding and engagement as it is about finding solutions.
What is Your Better Question?
Are you still with us? Did you notice that all questions asked here are designed to provoke deep reflection, encourage better choices, and foster growth in decision-making, creativity, leadership, and relationships? Let me know if you'd like further exploration into any of these areas!
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Do you feel like you're on the edge of something amazing, but you just can't figure out what it is? That's where I come in. My name is Georgia Patrick. I work with curious, intense, understanding professionals—real and retired, to tap into their full potential and get extremely clear on their gift (their value) to individuals actively seeking such wisdom. It starts with an email. Maybe, later, a short call to make sure you are understood.
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