Art of Answering Questions

We spend much of our lives answering questions.

Most of the time, the questions are human in origin, but dogs ask some really good questions as well.

Considering the amount of time we spend answering questions, it is passing strange that we devote so little of our time to studying this long forgotten art.

Some of you may argue that our education system prepares us to answer questions well. But after spending over 20 years in that education system I must respectfully disagree with you. Academic speak is often filled with jargon, difficult to understand, overly pedantic, and dare I say it, boring.

"Men are born ignorant, not stupid; they are made stupid by education." ~~[Bertrand Russell]

To better learn the art of answers, we must first consider the purpose of questions.

People ask questions for a variety of reasons:

1. To get more information on something they are interested in or a problem they need to solve.
2. To get validation on their actions or condition. The most famous being, "Darling, do I look fat?".
3. To learn something about you. Carefully crafted questions, can get you to inadvertently divulge personal information about yourself.
4. To guide you towards a certain point of view. By crafting a series of strategic questions, it is possible to lead you down a path of thought, and ultimately arrive at the asker's desired point of view. This style of persuasion is extremely effective because you think that you arrived at the answer all on your own.
5. To make a point or send a message. An effective style of making a point is to ask a question that presupposes the point you are trying to make. For example, "Which bank do you think will fail first?" presupposes that at least some banks are going to fall.

To master the art of answering questions, you must first identify the purpose of the question. Most questions are a mix of (1) seeking information, and (2) seeking validation. (4), and (5) are not true questions, but rather answers in the guise of a question. (3) is more of a personal security issue, which we should always be on the look-out for, especially when interacting in online communities including HubPages.

How you choose to answer a question, will depend on your reasons for answering the question.

1. To provide information.
2. To convince the asker and others of your point of view.
3. To discredit/ridicule the asker in front of others.

Sadly, many people today answer questions for the purpose of ridicule, especially in online communities.

They may think the question is stupid, they may disagree with the asker's point of view, or they may think that putting others down somehow elevates their own self. Whatever the case, this type of anti-social communication style is dangerous, and often cause communities to fail.

Askers faced with a hostile answer will either respond in kind, and/or stop participating altogether. Others may be too afraid to participate in the future for fear of getting similar hostile responses. It is one of the main reasons why many people feel so alienated today.

There is no good reason to ridicule others.

If you feel yourself moving in that direction, take a break and come back later.

The best way to provide information and persuade others to your point of view is to:

1. Use as much positive language as possible.

Try to keep all negative emotions out of your answers and do not scold the asker even though you may disagree with his actions.

People are more likely to listen to you if you use positive language, and provide useful information that can help solve their problem.

If positive language is not possible, then at least stay neutral.

2. Be inclusive and empathize with the asker.

Show the asker that you understand where they are coming from.

Share similar personal experiences with them and let them know what worked for you. This shows that you care about what they are going through, and also have experience in dealing with it.

For example, with this Yahoo! Answers question, the winning answer started with an inclusive statement "I love their look too!". After that it provided some pertinent information to help the asker make a good decision about dog breed.

Many of the other answers had similar pertinent information, but they were phrased too negatively. Scolding the asker for simply asking a question is a quick way to end the dialogue and end your chances of convincing the asker to your point of view.

3. Suggest, don't command.

Try, as much as possible, to make your answers sound like suggestions rather than commands.

For example, instead of saying "do this" say "one of the things that worked for me", "we could do this", or "you may consider doing this". Suggestions sound like you are trying to help out a friend, or a peer; while commands sound like condescension.

Nobody likes being talked down to.

4. Do not push too much information onto the asker.

Do not try to push too much additional information onto the asker.

Try and answer the question to the point, and add at most one short thing. If the asker is interested, let them follow up with you. Putting in too much makes it laborious to read your answer, and it may come across as too much of a lecture.

In this Yahoo! Answers question, the best answer was short and only provided the asker with what she was asking for. In contrast, the long-winded answer came across as more of a lecture, and probably annoyed the asker.

5. Appeal to a higher authority.

One way to get others to listen to you and trust your answers is to appeal to a higher authority. For example, say "according to Turid Rugaas, a dog expert who has studied canine body language for over 20 years ...". Use quotes or statistics if you have them available.

Numbers tend to be very convincing.

6. Do not get personal.

Sometimes, it may be necessary to disagree with the asker's opinion.

When you need to disagree, try to be as impersonal as possible. Deflect the opposing claim to a third part. For example instead of saying "No, biting the dog's ear is wrong", you can say "According to this article, biting a dog's ear may cause dog aggression issues down the road".

In this Yahoo! Answers question, there were 23 answers in total. All of them told the asker that biting a dog was wrong, except for one. That one got chosen as the best answer.

The other answerers may have fared better if they used less personal language than "That's an asinine idea", "Hey I think that's a good way of getting your face bitten", or "You should not bite and you should not yell".

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