At some point or another, everyone ends up in a situation where they are explaining something to an audience. That audience may be a bunch of anonymous people, or it may be direct reports. And during such situations, it's not uncommon to pause, and ask if there are any questions.
The problem is, the way this inquiry is posed, is loaded.
Take a moment to think about the phrase 'Are there any questions?' It sounds inquisitive, but think of yourself as being a member of the audience - is it an inviting question? It is an open question that makes you feel comfortable raising your voice?
Usually, the answer is 'no'. Raising your hand, asking a question - both those actions subtly go against the grain. The phrase 'Are there any questions?' sets the grain in such a way that it's far more comfortable, as an audience member, to stay quiet.
It takes a lot of self confidence to go against the grain. What happened with me early in my career - and what I assume happens to most people (since I am nothing special) - is that asking questions or asking for clarification, is perceived as a weakness. Maybe we have trauma from grade school when we asked questions and were made fun of for not 'getting it'. But that was grade school - by the time we get to a career, its a whole other ballgame.
I may be stating the obvious, but sometimes it's nice to hear someone else acknowledge, reiterate, and justify the obvious.
The point is - even as we get older, we still have questions, but we are often held back by previous experiences that have marred us. We have a deeply ingrained desire to appear so intelligent or strong that we resist asking a question.
On the other hand - what goes through your mind when someone else asks a question? At least in my case (and again, I assume in others' cases as well, since I am nothing special), if I hear someone else ask a question, its either 'Ah, yes - I was thinking the same thing', and I am happy someone else brought up the topic, or I think 'Wow, that person is really engaged - they are thinking on a level I didn't even consider', I take it as a learning opportunity to expand my thought process, and I am appreciative of the opportunity. In either case, it's a positive situation.
But that is the perspective of the audience member. If it takes two to tango, it takes both sides of the situation to foster as fully an educational experience as possible - meaning not only does the audience member have to muster the guts to ask a question, but the presenter can also help the situation by inviting questions.
So, for example - after presenting a chunk of material, the presenter may say:
"OK, that was a lot of information. Now is a great time to ask any questions you may have"
- OR -
"I'm sure there are a lot of questions, so lets pause a moment to address them"
There are a couple subtle messages in those.
- In the first instance, there is the acknowledgement of a lot of information. This helps the audience member feel validated that they (potentially) just absorbed a lot of information, may feel a bit overwhelmed, and needs time to process. It helps pave the way for the statement that if there are questions, this is an appropriate time.
- In the second instance, by stating that they are sure there are questions, the presenter is expecting there to be questions. When the presenter expects questions, and that is conveyed to the audience - it's a whole lot easier for the audience member to ask them.
Now, note the difference between those two potential statements, and the following:
"OK. That was a lot of information. Now is a great time to ask any questions, if there are any."
Ask yourself - doesn't that feel just a bit less inviting? The qualifier 'if there are any' at the end almost completely nullifies the opening offered by the 'Now is a great time to ask any questions'.
These are subtle wording differences, but they make a huge impact on how likely it is that an audience member will raise their voice to ask a question.
As someone who spent a large portion of my career where I was a technical instructor - I can tell you that an audience that asks questions is engaged, and an engaged audience is always preferred to a silent audience, and one way to keep the audience engaged is to be mindful of how you ask if there are any questions.
This post was inspired by Ozan Varol.