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Have you ever really wanted to work with someone, perhaps a potential partner, mentor or team leader, but you didn’t know how to make it happen? Maybe you want to become more of a “people person,” learning to make meaningful connections or take leadership at work.
No matter what goals you may have, learning to keep the lines of communication open will create new opportunities, moving you forward in achieving your purpose in business. Here are five circumstances where you can use the power of asking the right questions to open doors and lead you to new opportunities and connections.
Related: How to Ask Truly Powerful Questions as a Leader (and Why It Matters)
1. Unlock new opportunities
If you’re meeting with a potential business partner, mentor or team leader, you should have some key questions on hand that go beneath the surface. It’s often not easy to meet new people. Icebreakers usually consist of comments about the weather, sports teams, or the commute.
Getting others to talk about themselves rather than the usual give and take is an art and a skill. You can start with the old “Who, What, Where, When and Why” format of journalism articles. For example, you can ask “Who is your mentor?” or “Why did you start your business?” If you partner with another organization, you can ask, “What services do you offer that I might need?” Questions focused on these categories can more quickly reveal whether certain networking relationships will produce results for you and your company.
2. Know your team
In the daily grind of business, it’s easy to feel invisible and unheard. Creating a culture of asking the right questions increases your ability to know the person behind your team members. Whether someone is valued for their knowledge of technology, their sales prowess, or their writing ability, we are all more than the sum of our abilities. It’s important to know your team’s passions, their vision for the future, and why they work for the company at this time in their lives.
You might learn things that set one team member apart from others – they might assist the elderly or disabled people on their days off – but you’ll only find out this valuable information if you ask. You may find that they have an entrepreneurial spirit and have a fun business or family business. Or you may find that they travel, which could open you up to new vacation spots or expand how you do your job. The right questions create a culture of respect, helping people better reveal who they are.
Related: Life is too short to work with incompatible people: Follow these 3 secrets to create high-performing teams
3. Know your audience
As you begin to engage team members in your circle, it’s important to know your audience. In other words, find out who you are dealing with and be open and inclusive while interacting with them instead of interrupting the flow of communication. Don’t ask questions that put them in difficulty. For example, don’t assume that your team members want to talk about politics or that they all love sports. Be inclusive rather than expecting everyone to agree with your position or perspective.
It’s important to make sure the person you’re talking to is a good recipient of what you’re saying. Giving people space to be themselves lets them know that you appreciate and want to know the person they truly are. Like many people, you may not feel comfortable breaking the ice and involving team members you don’t know well, but you can find help.
There are numerous online sources that offer lists of possible open-ended questions you could use, such as “If you had a superpower, what would it be?” or “If you were a time traveler, what period would you return to?” Asking them to explain their response will allow them to reveal their character in ways that normal communication patterns would not.
4. Ask interview questions
Whether you’re interviewing a candidate for a job or making an discovery call considering a collaboration, asking the right questions gets the other person to speak in a way that reveals what you need to know. In business, when it comes to conversation, there are drivers and passengers. The driver isn’t the one talking all the time; the driver is the one who asks the questions that drive a meaningful conversation.
Business leaders ask interview questions to quickly find out who is and isn’t a good fit for the company. I often ask why the candidate wants to work for my company. I quickly learn if they’ve done any research or know anything about what we do. Ask a question like “What do you hope to gain from this experience?” can reveal a candidate’s purpose. You might also find out about a potential hire’s strength or resilience by asking about a challenge they’ve had to overcome in life. Asking the right questions during an interview can bring out the true character of someone you only have a few minutes to evaluate.
Related: The Only Interview Technique That Guarantees You the Truth
5. Know yourself
Effective questions don’t always have to involve another person. Sometimes the relationship you need to work on the most is with yourself. Having honest, thought-provoking questions that you ask yourself monthly, quarterly, or even daily can open you up to growth. For example, it is useful to occasionally evaluate your progress in the company or even your motivation to provide the type of service your position requires.
Ask yourself the tough questions: Am I living my purpose? Is the lifestyle of a business leader for me? I am happy? Keeping a journal or taking notes on your phone can help you keep your heart and mind aligned, ensuring your personal goals and dreams don’t get swept away by the business wave. If you find it difficult to be this honest with yourself, you may want to find an accountability partner, someone with compatible goals. You may also seek a mentor to guide you in planning how to navigate necessary changes in your life, especially if your deep questions reveal that you have deviated from the path you originally set for yourself.
Putting these five strategies into practice can be a real game-changer for anyone who feels like they’re missing out on human connection. Engaging team members, colleagues and potential employees with respect and grace can open doors and make your company a place where everyone wants to work.