Presented by Trisha Cummings

Just what is your question?

How you ask a question – will determine the speakers answer and attitude.

Asking a question like – I don’t understand – doesn’t give the speaker a clue what you don’t understand.

Everything is not answer when the speaker asks you specify what you don’t understand.

Help the speaker by asking a question that gives them a glimmer of what you are trying to ask.

Don’t make the speaker play 20 questions with you to get to your question

“You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers. You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions.” –Naguib Mahfouz (Nobel Prize Winner)

How to Ask a Smart Question

A well constructed question should have:

Clarity of Purpose

Proper Question Framing

Sincerity

Respect

Clarity of Purpose

Questions come in three different levels

Level one question - are the rough tools you use to form a general understanding of a subject.

Level two questions - build upon this general understanding and try to fit it into the existing framework of what you already know.

Level three questions - extend your newly acquired understanding to the world around you and in new directions.

Level One Definitions and clarifications

How do you define this word, term, idea, etc What does this idea (passage, concept, etc.)

mean? What would be a specific, concrete example of

this?

Contextuals How was this idea (event, text, work, etc.)

shaped by its time? Where did this originate and why? Who was the originator of this and what was he

or she like?

Analyzers

What parts or features make up the whole and what does each part do?

How do the parts contribute to the whole?

How is this organized and why is it organized this way?

What are the most important features of this?

Level Two

Comparatives How is this the same as that? How is this different than that? How are these more or less similar? What is the opposite of this?

Causals

What factors caused this to happen? Which of these factors is sufficient? Which contributing? Which probable? On what grounds can we eliminate

possible causes or explanations?

Evaluatives

Why do you like or dislike this (or agree or disagree with this)?

How strong is the case that this is correct?

What criteria are best for judging this? What is the best order or priority for

these things and why? What is the strongest argument against

this?

Level Three

Counterfactuals How would this change if X happened? How would things be different if X had not

happened? How would things be different if X

happened to a greater (or lesser) degree?

Extenders (Synthesizers)

How can we apply this to this set of circumstances?

What can we predict because of this? What ideas can be added to this? What might happen if you added this to

that?

Proper Question Framing

Framing a question that sets up a false comparison: Why should we allow women to fight in

combat if they can't even stand a little sexual harassment in the workplace?

This question assumes that volunteering to place oneself in a dangerous situation is the equivalent of being involuntarily subjected to sexual harassment, a comparison that falls apart with the slightest critical reflection.

Pay close attention whenever a comparison appears in a question. Someone could be trying to slip a fast one by you.

Framing a question that sets up a false dilemma: Why should we bother to spend money to

save the whales when people are starving to death?

The underlying assumption of this question is that saving the whales and helping the starving are mutually exclusive propositions, which may not be the case.

By assuming a "one or the other" answer, the question narrows the focus to exclude the possibility that both are achievable. As a rule, be wary of either/or questions. They may be justified, but they can also be highly misleading.

Framing a question that doesn't necessarily follow from its premise: As the world's last remaining superpower,

does America have a special responsibility to spread our values of democracy and freedom to other nations?

Whether we have a special responsibility as a nation is a complex moral and political question that may or may not have anything to do with our superpower status.

Try to think through the logic of premises in questions. Sometimes they are valid, and sometimes they are not.

Framing a question that assumes the answer: Are you still beating your wife? Here the question is framed in such a

way that the respondent cannot answer without affirming an assumption that she has in the past or continues to beat his wife, which may not be true.

Pay attention to the assumptions that are built into questions and try to make certain that they are well established.

Framing a question with undefined words or words whose definition is very loose: Do you love me? Confusion often arises when a question

contains an insufficiently defined word, especially one that has many possible meanings.

Some words are very generic and may cover entire classes of ideas or things that have quite different meanings.

Love is such a word. It comes in many varieties (romantic, paternal, maternal, fraternal, platonic, etc.).

Answers to such questions are difficult without a clear definition of the specific usage.

Even so, defining how you are using a word that is subject to many meanings is usually the best way to minimize confusion.

Framing a question that contains an ambiguity: Why is it that visiting relatives can be so

boring? At first glance this seems a straightforward

enough question, but on second glance its wording leads to a problematic ambiguity.

Is the question asking why relatives that have come to see you are boring, or why your visiting them is boring?

Without greater clarity or some context to help us understand the intended meaning, the question is difficult to answer.

Oftentimes we are unaware we have framed a question ambiguously (because we know what we mean), but if two or more understandings of a question are possible, you'll soon get them.

Framing a question that asks for an answer the subject is incapable of providing: A special word needs to be said about these kinds

of questions, which are quite common in public debate. The problem is this: despite our longing for a definitive answer, not every subject is capable of supplying one with the same level of certainty.

A few subjects like mathematics and geometry allow for absolute certainty. Science offers us a high degree of certainty on many questions (but not absolute certainty), while other subjects like history and sociology can only provide us with probable answers.

On the other hand, the answers to ethical and political questions can vary greatly with circumstances, and answers in matters of aesthetics are often articulations of taste. Lastly, metaphysical questions may only be answerable with deeply personal -- but no less valuable or meaningful -- statements of belief.

Here are some examples of questions framed to require an answer that the subject cannot supply:

Asking for certainty when probable truth is as good as it gets: What did Columbus really do when he

landed in the New World? Barring the invention of a time machine, we can't know the answer for sure.

The best we can do is make an educated guess based upon historical evidence.

Our guess may be more or less probable given the available evidence, but it can never reach 100 percent certainty.

A better formulation of this question might be Given the evidence, what likely happened when Columbus landed in the New World?

Asking for a definitive answer when the answer varies with circumstances: Is lying ethical? The question of whether lying is ethical

depends on specific circumstances. Indeed, it can't be well considered without

reference to circumstances. For the most part lying is probably

unethical, but if you owned a gun and a burglar who had taken you and your family hostage asked where it was kept, the ethical response might just be to lie.

Thus to ask for a definitive answer is to misunderstand the nature of the inquiry.

A better formulation of this question might be what circumstances determine whether lying is ethical?

Asking for objective certainty when the answer varies due to taste: What is the most beautiful piece of art in

the world? Few questions are as personal and

passionate as those concerning our tastes, which are by definition subjective.

This is not to say that subjective questions are unanswerable or a waste of time.

Indeed, defining what we find beautiful is a highly valuable way to understand ourselves and our relationship to the world more intimately.

A better formulation of this question might be what are the qualities that make this piece of art beautiful to you?

Asking for certainty when there is no demonstrable way of obtaining an answer: Do we have guardian angels? This is a metaphysical question and

unanswerable by the standards of rational inquiry.

Sincerity When people are sincere it means they say what they mean

and mean what they say. It is possible, of course, to ask insincere questions, which can

be defined as those that are not interested in knowing the answer.

One example of this is a rhetorical question, which can actually impede the search for knowledge.

In fact, rhetorical questions are generally more concerned with making a point, often at someone's expense. Here are some examples: 1. Hey, who died and made you king?

The first is a backhanded way of saying someone has overstepped his or her authority.

2. Tell me, did your mom have any kids that lived? 3. What part of NO don't you understand?

The second and to some degree the third are assertions that someone is stupid or slow.

Keep in mind that rhetorical questions are not necessarily useless.

They can be highly effective forms of persuasion. Keep in mind: the person asking them isn't usually looking for

an answer.

Leading questions constitute another class of insincere inquiry. They may be concerned with the answer, but they aren't

designed to generate knowledge for the person asking them.

Most students are familiar with leading questions because professors sometimes teach by posing a series of questions whose inescapable answers lead the student to a given conclusion.

As a teaching technique (often called the Socratic method) such questioning can be highly useful, but it is not always concerned with an open-ended generation of knowledge. It may even be used to narrow the knowledge that can be generated.

A lawyer in court, for example, might use leading questions to undermine or minimize evidence or testimony that raises doubts about a desired outcome.

Indeed, lawyers are often told in law school never to ask a question in court unless the answer is already known.

What we are concerned with here, of course, are questions asked with a genuine interest in acquiring a better understanding, and this requires an openness to hearing the answer whatever it may be.

Respect Learning mostly takes place in a social setting

unless you are taking online classes or being home schooled

You will learn more effectively by discussing what you have read with others.

In fact, the opportunity to share perspectives, to piece together an understanding with other people, and to test interpretations in debate almost always amplifies the effectiveness of learning.

When the student sitting next to you asks a question you hadn't considered, you benefit.

When the example you use to back up a point illuminates an issue for people struggling with it across the room, they benefit.

Therefore , a part of your success in class depends on those around you, and a part of theirs on you.

Obviously, then, a rude or disrespectful question can undermine the search for knowledge.

Why should I share an enlightening answer or idea with a jerk? This is why good questions should always be

phrased in ways that respect people's dignity. Asking someone to explain an apparent

contradiction in his or her beliefs or behavior need not involve a prosecutorial or "gotcha" approach.

Remember that none of us is immune from self-contradiction or error.

As the person who is ask the question Be honest if you don’t know the answer.

I hadn’t thought of that – let me check it out and get back to you.

Resources

How to Ask a Smart QuestionBy S. Snyder(Last revised:11/19/03) http://faculty.gvc.edu/ssnyder/121/Goodquestions.html