Asking questions is a basic leadership requirement. Whether you are leading, managing, job interviewing, negotiation, selling, influencing or just engaging your question asking is more important then you question answering.
- Find out what the other people care about, value, like, and dislike
- Distinguish yourself from the know-it-alls
- Flatter others, and maintain their self-esteem
- Show interest in others rather than coming across as just trying to get what you want
- Get a more honest assessment of the situation
- Avoid jumping to conclusions and making false assumptions
- Help guide people to arrive at the answer you want
- Buy yourself time
- Handle surprise and attack by asking for clarification instead of jumping into a defensive mode
- Persuade better
- Reinforce, clarify, or correct what you think you know
- Test and verify what they know
