How do you ask the right question? Would it surprise you to know that perhaps the best way of asking the right question is to keep your mouth shut and not ask anything at all?
< pause >
That previous statement might require some explanation. What I'm talking about here is the pause. It is the space between your response to someone's question, response or comment and the space before the next question you are asking or comment you are making.
George Miller famously said of communication, in the United States especially, “conversation in the United states is a competitive sport. Whoever takes a breath first loses”. Most of us are busy considering our response while the other person who's talking and wait for any break in the conversation to Interject our thought. This is not just personal egotism or a feeling of importance that what you have to say is more important than what anybody else has to say; many times it's simple excitement about a thought, or a buildup of stress until your thought is released through talking. A natural human action. Thus, we have people who talk over each other, questions that are posed without consideration of the previous answers, and the general lack of good communication.
< Pause >
And this clearly effects the information gathering that is the basis for most of the business analysts work.
Honor the pause
In information gathering, which the business analyst does extensively and continuously, the pause is a great tool to use to get more information, and more reliable information.
After a responder has given you an answer to a question, there was an opportunity for a pause. Instead of going on to the next question, even if the next question seems to be somewhat automatic or expected, you pause. You count to three or five. Inserting this pause, at least randomly, has the following beneficial effects:
- The responder will believe that you are considering the responder's answer which gives their answer more value in their minds because they believe it has more value in yours and will be more forthcoming with more information.
- People tend to abhor vacuums, especially in conversation. So, a lull in the conversation, a pause between the answer and the next question may lead the person to fill that void with more information that you did not ask for, information which may be more telling than the answers they gave, or the question you might have been asking next.
- It gives you time to evaluate the next question you were going to ask and make sure that it is relevant to the answer that was just given, showing you responded, that you are in fact listening to what they say.
If someone talking to you asks a question or makes a statement expecting a response, a pause before a response gives the other person the impression that you are considering what they have just said. Whether you are or not. And this conveys the same effects as listed above in terms of the value of the information being passed, as well as signaling to the other person that you are taking their question or comment seriously enough to give it some thought before responding, thus your response will be held in higher esteem or value.
Example
Let's look at an example:
Put yourself in the role of the responder to the questions that this business analyst asks of you. See if you can tell the difference. Note that these questions are the ones you would ask at the beginning which are usually throwaway and designed to establish rapport before you get into the real difficult questions of what the problem is and what can be done about it.
How long have you been working here at XYZ?
4 years
What position do you have?
Senior manager
Where do you live?
Dunedin
Where is that exactly?
Northern suburbs
Do you have a long commute?
Fairly long, I guess
And so forth...
Pretty easy, straightforward questions. Now let's look at the same series of questions asked again in a slightly different way:
How long have you been working here at XYZ?
4 years
< Pause >
< Pause >
< Pause >
What position do you have?
Senior manager
< Pause >
< Pause >
< Pause >
Where do you live?
Dunedin
< Pause >
< Pause >
< Pause >
Where is that exactly?
Northern suburbs
< Pause >
< Pause >
< Pause >
Do you have a long commute?
Fairly long, I guess
< Pause >
< Pause >
< Pause >
And so forth...
Did it feel different the reading? You were forced to interject those three words that I inserted between each question. In real life, they would represent a pause or a count. As you read the second version does it feel much more comfortable considering that you are the person to whom the questions are being asked?
What might have happened with the second version that would not have happened with the first version? The responder might respond with some value judgment or personal anecdote about the length of time they've spent at the company in response to the first question instead of simply answering with a numerical closed ended response. The person may have had something to say about their position in the company and add that to fill in the space before the next question. The pause after the question about position might give me (the questioner) a clue as to the next question which may have to do with what that particular position does and what activities take place.
At the very least you come up the responder, you'll feel as though I am listening to what you have to say, I am considering it and thinking about it even though it may be a simple closed ended factual question, and you will feel much more forthcoming about giving more answers and engaging in a more collaborative discussion. And all I did was count to three after each answer. And we are doing this as part of our introduction in our information gathering session, or any other early part of a conversation where it is necessary to establish a rapport.
Another advantage is important if you need to control the conversation, such as when you are conducting an interview to get information. Establishing the pause between their response and your next question helps create a good rapport or rhythm of “ask-answer” for the session. And this rhythm will help you and your responder get more information and will go a long way to getting you the right answers even if you are not sure you are asking the right question.
Just as you pause to catch your breath after excessive physical exertion, you might also pause to catch your thoughts during a conversation or an interview.
Author: Steve Blais, PMP, PMI-PBA
Steve Blais, PMP, PMI-PBA, is an author, consultant, teacher and coach who has nearly 50 years’ experience in Information Technologies working as a programmer, project manager, business analyst, system analyst, general manager, and tester. He has also been in an executive position for several start-up companies. He develops business analysis and agile processes and trains business analysts, project managers, and executive for organizations around the world. He is the author of Business Analysis: Best Practices for Success (John Wiley, 2011) and co-author of Business Analysis for Practitioners: a Practice Guide (PMI, 2014) and a contributor to the Business Analyst Body of Knowledge, V3 (IIBA, 2015).