Have you ever asked a stupid question?

Why did you think it was stupid?

The saddest thing for me is that there is thought that questions can be stupid. I state that because I am a firm believer in asking questions, very unusual ones at times. The reason for me stating that it is sad is that any type of question can usually get a response. If a person thinks it is off-base they may be annoyed about your question, and they show it by their attitude, words or actions. But remember one thing, that question may have told you more about that person than you would have ever got with a number of polite questions.

‘Ask a Stupid Question Day’ this year is being celebrated on September 30^th. It is my understanding that it is a day that encourages all of us to overcome our fear of asking questions that may sound like your uneducated. To me this makes so much sense. I agree with this as I don’t know of any human being that knows it all. For if they think they know it all, they are usually very arrogant people.

We’ve all done it, had that question we wanted to ask that just sounded astoundingly stupid. We’re embarrassed that it even occurred to us, and worse, that we didn’t know the answer when it seemed so simple. The truth is there is no such thing as a stupid question, except the one that you choose not to ask. We never learn anything if we’re afraid to ask the question to begin with, whether that’s by researching it or asking someone who might know. Ask a Stupid Question Day encourages you to overcome your fear of sounding uneducated, and opening yourself to learning by asking your stupidest questions.

Asking questions serves as an effective feedback system in business. It is a way of finding out if someone understands what is to be expected of them. We need to remember that we will find more about life, events and people if we ask questions. My favorite question is a follow-up question, this is because it digs deeper and you can find out amazing things, just by paying attention to the posture of the person responding, their tone of their voice and of course the answer they gives, as I wrote of earlier.

It is my understanding that during the 1980’s that a group of teachers recognized that their students weren’t asking questions because of their fear of looking so-called stupid. So they created a day for students when they could ask questions that they were ashamed of asking. By making it a safe place for these type of questions, they encouraged them to be more curious in their classes, and get over their fear.

As the majority of people who read my comments are in or were in business, I want to take this now into the business realm with a few questions;

Can you imagine how much better everyone would feel if they didn’t have to fear asking a question that is concerning them?

Can you imagine how much more connected the entire staff would become if the questions opened further discussion?

The best way to encourage others to ask questions, is to ask more questions yourself. There is nothing to fear, as the answers you get will give you an understanding of those you are communicating with. This is in terms of the posture of the person responding (yes you can tell if a person is being honest by their posture), their tone of their voice (can tell you how sure they are of their response) and of course the answer they give.

Doesn’t it make sense to celebrate this day?

What are you going to do to celebrate it?