How to Ask A Question

Photo Credit: royblumenthal

Engineers get systems. We get the whole idea behind feeding a system or a process information, material, energy, whatever, and getting some kind of desired output. That’s how machines work. That’s how circuits work. That’s how software works. Given this understanding, we also grasp the fact that if you feed your system garbage, you get garbage out.

Given all this, it perplexes me that engineers are so bad at asking questions. Maybe it’s just me, but I’m pretty sure most of us either struggle with formulating a pithy question, or have to struggle with co-workers who do. Isn’t asking a question and getting an answer at the end just a system? The question is the input, the answer is the output, and someone’s brain is the system that makes the conversion.

Today, I want to talk about how to ask a question such that the person being asked gets it, and gives you the information you need.

Decide What Your Question Actually Is

This is harder than it might seem. This can be especially tough when you’ve been slaving away at something for hours, you’ve got 17 windows open on your desktop, 3 spec sheets, and 5 text books on the go, and all you know is you’re stuck. It happens to all of us. It’s OK. Step back from the big red stapler and take a deep breath… Good. Now, ask yourself: why are you stuck? Are you missing some information? Have you got the information you need but it doesn’t make sense? What’s the actual roadblock? Asking yourself these kinds of questions can totally open you up and redirect you towards solving the issue at hand.

It’s possible you’ve discovered a bunch of issues that you need help on. List them. Take them one at a time in the most sensible order you can. You still need to decide what your actual issue is.

Tweet It

OK, so don’t actually Tweet your issues to the world. I know some people do it, but it’s kind of weird (and might be against your corporate disclosure policies). The point I’m trying to make here is that you should be able to ask your question in 140 characters or less. If you need a 15-minute history just to put the question in context, you have two problems. One, you’re probably asking someone who isn’t familiar enough with the situation to answer it appropriately. Two, you don’t really know what you’re asking. If you can boil down your question into a Tweet, you’ve probably a good handle on what you need. You want to strive towards as pithy as possible.

Ask!

Finally, you’ve got to ask your question. Try and think of the most appropriate person to ask. If you can bug the girl in the cubicle next door rather than interrupt the site director, great! If you need the site director, well, so be it. Then, just ask! If the person answering needs more context, give it to them, but there’s no need to belabour it.

Pro Tip: Bring paper and a writing stick and write everything down. Having to ask twice is embarrassing – trust me.

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