Asking profound questions opens up possibilities. Obviously, we are not talking about the yes-or-no questions or the “what-do-you-think ?” question that comes at the end of a long-winded here-is-what-I-think-and-given-my-expertise-that-is-probably-as-close-as-you-can-get-to-the-correct-answer.
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What happens when you ask a question where there is no obvious or immediate answer ? Have you ever been in a situation where a difficult question was asked and you could “see people think” ? That is what happens when people are faced with tough questions. They think. And when people think, their brain gets to work, because the human brain is programmed to look for answers. If we are struggling with a really tough subject, the brain will even continue to work unconsciously (like when we’re showering or jogging, or even sleeping). Neurons will fire wildly and connections will get strengthened or new ones will get formed. New connections lead to new thoughts and we are bringing innovative insights to the problem (see Warren Berger who blogs on questions and innovation), either through conscious reflection or unconscious brain activity. This means our brain is learning !
Asking profound questions leads to thinking and learning. There is an art is to asking the type of question that makes people think. Less artful but probably more challenging is to allow silence to reign while the thinking-learning takes place. The brain will not be able to focus on the question at hand if it is bombarded with other stimuli. In the fast-paced business environment, we are uncomfortable with silence because it seems it is a non-productive phase. The opposite is true. When a handful of brains are thinking and learning about a difficult problem, much more progress is being made than when people are rambling away and “sharing” their “expert knowledge”.
So next time you ask a question, and you see the person in front of you think … Shut up !
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