W.I.N. Wednesday: Ask More - Tell Less
In my instructor development course Excellence in Training I teach the key to effective debriefings is "Ask More - Tell Less". Asking questions of the participants about how they felt the exercise went, what they learned from the experience and what they would do differently next time to have a more desirable outcome is more effective in enhancing future behaviour than telling them what they did right, what they did wrong and what they need to do differently next time.
As I pondered the question of what to write about this week it struck me that 'Ask More - Tell Less' may also be the key to leadership, parenting, relationships and success in life and one of the reasons I refer to What's Important Now? as life's most powerful question.
Asking questions of people about their family, their interests and hobbies, their experiences, their successes, lessons learned from their past failures, their hopes and dreams, and their lives will give you insights into who they are as a person and will help to develop relationships, which are so critical in today's world.
Why would asking be more effective than telling to accomplish tasks, get people to perform and achieve success? Buy in. When you ask people questions (and truly listen to the answer) it shows that you are interested in them as a person and in what they have to say. It demonstrates that you value their experience and knowledge. Great questions will cause people to pause, think and reflect and will often generate great answers and great solutions to problems. The solutions they generate will be their idea and we are all more invested in our own ideas than those being forced on us by others.
What's Important Now? Strive to Ask More and Tell Less. You might be surprised at the results.
Take care.
Brian Willis
Committed to the pursuit of excellence through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?
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