How to Use Questions to Answer Questions

Questions are never wrong but sometimes they are short cuts people use to avoid thinking. It can be quicker to give someone the answer but many times it is more helpful to respond to a question with a question. The Greek philosopher, Socrates, made a specialty of the questioning process. Now the Socratic Method, which is widely used in schools everywhere, continues the tradition of stimulating learning by generating a string of connected questions. You can provoke a meaningful learning experience for the people who come to you for answers by using questions to answer questions.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Clarify the initial question by restating it in your own words. Suppose someone asked you what to buy for another friend’s birthday gift. You can paraphrase their question by saying, “Are you asking me to help you decide you should give to this friend or to tell you what I would get for her?” You just used a question to answer a question and the result will be information that will help you to satisfy the real desire behind the question.

2. Help connect the questioner with what he already knows. To continue the illustration about what to buy for a friend, you can ask, “What does this person like to do?” This should generate a short list that may include hobbies and interests. Even if the question is about another subject, you should pose a question to find out what the asker already knows about the topic.

3. Use another question to link the list with some guesses about what might work as a good gift. For our gift example, this question could be, “What do you think this person would enjoy receiving since he likes _____(the hobby or interest)?” Connecting a prediction with prior knowledge should form the basis of the next question. This still doesn’t solve the first question. It gives clues as to the next part of the process of arriving at a good answer.

4. Find out whether the idea is feasible. To continue our example, ask “How much will your ideal gift cost?” and “Can you afford to buy it?” In general, this stage in the questioning process is meant to determine whether you have actually helped the asker to reach an answer that will satisfy the original question. Perhaps the idea is impossible to fulfill. In that case, return to one of the previously posed questions. The fact that you are willing to take the time to engage in a serious conversation that gives respect to the asker and doesn’t impose your opinions on him is a tremendous gift and will build your relationship as it increases the self-confidence of the asker.