Communication Skills Lesson #37: How to Ask A Question
Engineers get systems. We get the whole idea behind feeding a system or a process information, material, energy, whatever, and getting some kind of desired output. That’s how machines work. That’s how circuits work. That’s how software works. Given this understanding, we also grasp the fact that if you feed your system garbage, you get garbage out.
Given all this, it perplexes me that engineers are so bad at asking questions. Maybe it’s just me, but I’m pretty sure most of us either struggle with formulating a pithy question, or have to struggle with co-workers who do. Isn’t asking a question and getting an answer at the end just a system? The question is the input, the answer is the output, and someone’s brain is the system that makes the conversion.
Today, I want to talk about how to ask a question such that the person being asked gets it, and gives you the information you need.
