Asking Good Questions
It's about talking to people
May 14, 2015
The professional shmoozer
I have always felt that knowing what, and how, to ask questions is key to connecting with people, and expanding knowledge. As illustrated in this amazing post, there is much to be learned from people with passion and expertise. I was once told that I could become a "professional shmoozer" for my skills in small talk, talking to randome people, ability to generate conversation out of thin air, etc., but there are a couple of things that always come to mind when people compliment me on my people skills. First - I just happened to have had plenty of practice with asking people questions. Secondly, I have a strong belief that everyone you come into contact with has a story to share, and has something of value in their mind that I could tap into - the key is to ask the right questions.
The right attitude
I am discovering that becoming a programmer is an exercise in humility. You have to be comfortable with the idea that you don't know how to do something. We live in a society where not knowing how to do something is frowned upon, when really, the only way to learn how to do something is to acknowledge that you don't know how to do it, and be willing to "expose your ignorance," a phrase we are being taught to embrase at DBC, and ask for help. I think that before you can ask the right question, you have to have the right attitude. You have to be willing to be open to the responses of those you are asking your questions to.
Do your homework
This post obviously has a lot to do with programmers asking technical questions, or noob programmers asking questions, but it's a good idea to do your homework before asking questions. Try doing a google search first - is there a possible solution? Is there a method that might work? Have an idea formulated in your head first of how you think you could solve the problem, or have an idea of what you don't understand. Is there a method you don't understand? Are you not sure about the proposed solution and need to bounce the idea off of others?
Be mindful of other people's time
In this resource that DBC pointed us to, there is a suggestion to pretend that you are talking to someone that doesn't have a lot of time. If they only had 5 min, how could you pose your question so that you could get the exact answer you are looking for? It is also, just in genera, good practice to be mindful and respectful of other people's time. Can you summarize your problem, or is there a specific area you could focus on, that would allow you and the person answering the question to be able to work through the question quicker?
Ask one thing at a time
This is one of the great suggestions in this post. Try to focus on one question at time. Prioritizing is always a good idea when you have a lot of questions.
Use the listener's language
Also a suggestion from the link in the previous section, which is probably my favorite suggestion. It says, "Speak your listener's language. Relate questions to the listener's frame of reference and use words and phrases that your listener understands." Don't use difficult terms or language if the listener may not understand what that is. Acronyms can be weird sometimes. Also, if you don't undertsand your listener's language, ask them to stop or slow down and explain what they mean in a way that you can understand.
Conclusion
I think there are a lot of techniques that would be helpful in asking questions, but I attempted to discuss some cultural ideas, since asking questions is, afterall, a kill in intercting with people. Hopefully you found this helpful!