The Art of Asking Intelligent Questions

Why the Right Questions Change Everything (And How to Ask Them)

When I was younger, I was most impressed by the people who seemed to know all the answers. You know, the ones who could go on and on pretty much any topic. I thought that was the best way to look 'smart.'

But as I progressed in my career, I realized that these people were really just posturing. Dropping a ton of facts didn’t add much to the conversation. These people whom I thought were smart were just trying desperately to look smart to other people.

What really gets my attention nowadays is the person who asks the one question that cuts through all the confusion. Their question makes everyone stop, think hard, and see things in a brand new way.

I've seen this happen so many times during my nearly 20 year career in software development, but this isn’t a technology-specific phenomenon.

A team is stuck on a tough problem. They might be arguing hard about different ideas and not getting anywhere. Then, someone asks a question that sounds simple but is really smart. It might be something l…