What is a good question?
Question #0003
Asked by Carlos from New York, USA
March 2023
Answer:
Dear Carlos,
For me, a good question can start out as a feeling that something is just not right. Maybe the story someone is telling you does not quite ring true. Or you find yourself struggling to say what exactly you mean. In that moment, a question can bubble up to the surface and pop. It can be as simple as "I don't understand. Can we begin again?"
You would be surprised how often the simple question is the best question.
Something else about a good question: it opens up the way for others to ask their own question. A good question prompts inner movement, a rousing of energy in others who hear it. Even if everyone else has been hesitant to ask, when someone else raises their hand and stands up, and speaks, even with a slight tremor in their voice, it can feel like they are speaking with many voices. A good question gives everyone who hears it permission to know something difficult to know. Really good musicians and poets have this gift. But everyone can have it too.
A good question comes from a place of sincerity, a kind of innocent wanting to know. We are often faced by dilemmas, a barrage of information or paralyzing uncertainty, and we may find it difficult to know how to cut through the noise.
A good question feels like a clean slice, a sharp path cutting through the noise at just the right moment. Like a well-made sword, a good question makes a clear high sound.
It ‘bings’!
Your friend,
Adeola
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What is a good question?
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