“Curiosity killed the cat” is a proverb used to warn of the dangers of unnecessary investigation or experimentation. A less frequently-seen rejoinder to “curiosity killed the cat” is “but, satisfaction brought it back.”

Curiosity killed the cat…or did it really?

Well if it did, it was terribly unfair wasn’t it. And of course wrong! What is it that people who are naturally curious do a lot of? They ask questions.

Accused frequently of being nosey, they ask a lot of questions because they want to know why things happen, when they happen and how they happen.

Asking questions is a great way for us to find out what people think and why they do things.

It provides clues as to how they may react to certain ideas or products. Asking the right questions in the right sequence can provide a wealth of knowledge which can help us jointly look for amicable solutions.

However, without the necessary input and data gathering, we operate in the dark, stabbing in any direction for the right path. Getting answers to the right questions provides the all-important illumination to light the path and help us chart our direction accurately.

Questions in meetings fall into three specific areas: Commitment Questions, New Information Questions and Attitude Questions and they are all designed to move the process forward normally by joint venturing. I’ll discuss joint venturing in a future article.

Commitment questions help us move the conversation along.

They are questions, usually used at the beginning of the meeting, that ascertain quickly whether everyone is on the same page and that gain a ‘commitment’ to move forward.

Typically, such questions would be “So based on our last meeting, we agreed that the pricing was OK and delivery timelines were acceptable, but you wanted to discuss further the specifications, is that correct?”

These questions lay out the situation and then opens the opportunity for agreement, allowing us to move to the next stage in our process of discussion.

New Information questions get the momentum moving again and make progress. They encourage the client or customer to explore his or her ideas, as well as help us unveil anything that maybe unclear.

They help clarify things and encourage discussion that will lead to jointly finding mutually agreeable solutions.

Attitude questions explore the customer’s feelings and perspective so we can understand what the real objectives are.

Questioning helps us truly understand the situation and our customer or client.

Curiosity will not kill the cat! Curiosity is healthy, should be encouraged and will lead to more questions, and more results in a better joint understanding of opportunities and solutions for all parties involved. Do you feel curious? Do you ask curious questions? Please give us all some great examples.