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Other closed questions that direct the thinking of others as well as
enabling you to draw out more detailed information might include:

n Who are our best customers?
n What were the production figures last month?
n When will it be ready?
n Who is responsible?
n Where did the problem first show itself?
n Which would you choose?
n How does that affect you?
n What excites you personally about our vision statement?

Questions that invite the answer “yes” or “no” are simply extreme
forms of closed questions. “Yes” or “no” questions are a powerful tool for
restraining garrulity and for forcing another person to stick to the point
which is why they are so popular with lawyers. They are dangerous, how-
ever, because the answer is seldom complete and can be, as some lawyers
wish them to be, very misleading.

One further form of question that managers find useful in terms of
ensuring mutual understanding is called the progress test question. When
asking such questions, be careful always to take responsibility for what
Webster’s Dictionary calls “the transfer of meaning”.

n Have I made that clear enough?
n Does this raise any questions in your mind?
n Does what I have said make complete sense to you?

If you want honest answers never put the responsibility on the other
person by asking questions such as “are you with me so far?” They are
likely to answer “yes” no matter how confused they feel. (For a more com-
plete psychological overview of questions the interested reader may wish
to refer to The Power of Influence.)

To make your life a little easier

Anybody like me who makes a living from asking the right questions
knows that the answers can give rise to equally important supplementary
questions. In this book I have inserted many logical supplementary ques-
tions. I have indented these a little further on the page to make it easier
for you to follow the development.

You will have the advantage of listening to and carefully considering the
answers to the questions that you pose. This will lead to further supple-
mentaries and give you the full picture wherever you choose to investigate.
The supplementaries that I suggest enable you to dig a little deeper and,

Introduction xxix