Akimbo Food For Thought: Simply Ask the Question

“Start the conversation… simply ask the question...” (Godin, 2018). 

We are told from a young age that there are no silly questions. But have you ever felt nervous to ask a question of someone for fear you might seem silly? I find that this fear affects not only young children in school, but adults in the business world. Why are we so afraid to ask questions? 

Seth Godin points out in his recent podcast episode that asking questions is so difficult – and sometimes, scary – because we don’t know how to communicate with each other. “What the administrator wants... what the parent wants, what the student wants – they’re not the same thing.” (Godin, 2018). Sometimes we feel that what we think is expected of us and what is actually expected of us are very different, but they really aren’t. We feel that asking a question will make it seem as if we don’t know what is expected of us… but truthfully, we are expected to ask questions, and we are expected to learn. Be truthful and honest about what you need, and in return, you will grow.  

Sometimes, we aren’t the ones asking the questions, but the ones answering them… and that can be scary as well. Will the answer disappoint them? Will it be too harsh? Am I making sense? When answering questions, it can be easy to just give someone the answer, but that doesn’t help them grow. Seth Godin says it’s best to help connect the dots vs. helping to collect the dots. (2018). We can give our students, our employees, our coworkers, dots of information, but if the dots aren’t connected, the information is useless. Help them piece it together until they want to know the answer and how to find it.  

Whether you’re asking or answering the question, be a dot connector. 

References 

Godin, S. (2018, December 5). Connect the dots. Akimbo: A Podcast from Seth Godin. Podcast retrieved from  https://overcast.fm/+L0YW01EYg