Do you tell or ask? (And why it matters…)

Would you rather fight one gorilla-sized hamster or 100 hamster-sized gorillas?

Would you rather have fingers for toes or toes for fingers?

Which condiment best represents your personality and why?

I love a good question. You too?

I bet in person you’re probably pretty good at asking questions.  

But what about over email? Maybe not so much…

Over email, we tend towards statements and directions rather than questions.

And then we’re surprised when people don’t reply…

Compare:

‘Let me know your thoughts.’

with

‘What do you think?’

Or

‘Please provide feedback on the attached presentation.’

with

‘What’s your take on the data on slides 6-9?’

Which would YOU respond to faster?

It’s much harder to ignore a question than a statement.

Questions open a loop that we’re hard-wired to want to close.  

Especially if they involve hamsters and gorillas.