How to Ask Questions to Understand Others' Perspectives

Hello, this is Toda from TRAIL.

Whether it is your boss, colleagues, clients, or suppliers, I believe you all engage in conversations and dialogues with a great many people in your work.

Through my experience so far, I have come to feel that the way you ask questions to hear others' thoughts, including their true feelings, is very important.I have come to feel this way.

This is just my personal feeling, but for example, when you want to know the reason for something, I think asking "What do you think?" (or "What did you think?") rather than "Why?" is more effective at drawing out the thoughts deep within the other person.I think so.

Of course, the words that serve as an answer to "What do you think?" (or "What did you think?") often do not directly contain the reason for the "why." However, the words that come out in this answer often include not only their view and perception of the current situation, but also their own frustrations and expectations. It is precisely there that you can sense the "true why" that the other person feels (whether consciously or unconsciously)..

If you suddenly ask "Why?", unless you are particularly close to the person, it often results in nothing more than a superficial answer, doesn't it?

Next, when you want someone to give you a solution or an idea, I think asking "Where do you feel the problem is in particular?" rather than "What do you think we should do?" is more effective at finding new perspectives or clues for problem-solving.I think so.

Again, the words that serve as an answer to "Where do you feel the problem is in particular?" are naturally not the solution or idea themselves. However, the words that come out in this answer often show their view on what the essential cause of the problem or the most important point of contention is, along with their own recognition of the fundamental bottleneck, and as the flip side of that deep problem awareness, they often contain a "starting point for a solution.".

If you suddenly ask "What do you think we should do?", unless it is someone with whom you can exchange opinions frankly, the other person is often driven into a feeling that they must say something proper, and as a result, they often only return a mediocre and safe answer.

Of course, even with these ways of asking, you won't always get a good answer.
Still, it is important to try to have a natural dialogue without making the other person feel as much stress as possible, isn't it?

That is all for today.

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