What to Ask When You Don't Know What to Say

For people in business, this is a wonderful resource. I think that it is fantastic, and eliminates the need for stating, and potentially restating the obvious, e.g. "What do I need to do, to get you to fill in your work orders properly?" This is the point of departure for work getting done without other people being the "excuse" for non-compliance. This one question did so much for me, and it actually changed the complexion of the workforce completely. BUT, the book is seductive. Once you find yourself changing your perspective, this all starts to fall together. There should be a similar book for parents, and another for teachers. Both teachers and parents, and I am in both of those categories, we spend too much time saying things, and telling things. Asking a question is so very easy to do, gets to the point, and does not require defending? Certainly, if you are management, this is a wonderful resource text for you, but don't expect there to be the perfect set of questions for you. You need to think about this, and tailor THE IDEA of asking a question rather than saying something to YOUR situation. For teachers and parents, this is a FANTASTIC book because it will give you a REAL ALTERNATIVE to parenting or teaching that does not involve lecturing, etc., . Buy it, read it, and you will see a tremendous change in yourself and others.

The book may lack depth, but the categories that I read had insightful questions and included explanations of the questions' potency, applicable use, follow-up, and cautions. The questions are designed to head-off problems, solve problems, resolve conflict, make your opinion heard, etc. while helping others save face in a variety of situations.I see a number of negative reviews. I beleive (and some actually say this) that these are because the book simply was not what they expected, and not that it doesn't have something to offer.

I found this book to be a very useful tool in identifying and solving problems. The first chapter on The Magic of Questions puts the rest of the book into perspective. I also like the way that the book is organized around specific types of problems to be solved. Chapters range all the way from dealing with unreasonable job demands to coworkers stealing credit for your work. I teach at a couple of universities and recommend this book to all of my students. Many have come back to thank me after successfully using this powerful technique.

This book is pure gold. It isnt to be used a as reading book but used as pure reference. You will never again be in the situation of being unable to control a meeting phrases such as ' what exactly is stopping us coming to a decision' and 'why did you never comment on my performance over the last year' will become second nature. I have used this book for over a year, using these 3rd party questions to stimulate my own thought processes and those of the people in my meetings.One to have !!, miss it at your peril.Bryan Lord