I’ve been reading the Brazen Careerist and came across this post which got me thinking …http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2009/10/12/how-to-ask-good-questions/

Some of my wife’s friends are really good at asking questions and I find that when I talk with them, we find ourselves having a much deeper and meaningful conversation than the normal day to day stuff. I’d think this happens because the individuals are really interested in the conversation and have well developed empathy. That means that they’re in tune with the conversation and are applying their full focus on it.

Now let me think ...

There are a shedload of people out there who don’t. You’ll be asked a question (if you’re lucky), start answering and before you know it you can see their eyes have glazed and they’re off in la la land! Irritating. To be honest, I’ve really had to work hard at my listening as empathy hasn’t been a strength. So questioning and listening go hand in hand. It’s almost impossible to be a good questioner if you don’t listen well to answers. People who don’t have this ability (and its probably the majority of us) are missing out on a lot of learning, wisdom etc. By not asking good questions and listening, what we’re really saying is that we can figure it out for ourselves. Wrong!

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that if someone is a good questioner, they’re fundamentally a good person. I can have a good relationship with anyone who can ask good questions and listen well to the answers.

Any offers?

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