"Do you never stop questioning?" (Ingmar Bergman, The Seventh Seal)
I am fascinated by what happens when you ask 'good' questions. As an Action Learning facilitator, coach and trainer, they are integral 'tools' to the process of some one's learning and development. What is revealed can become an insight for the 'speaker' , the 'asker' and an 'audience' if there is one.
But they play a part in so many aspects of professional and personal lives. Take 'interviewing' -Desert Islands Discs, In the Psychiatrists Chair, Shrink Rap, Jeremy Paxman, Fern Britton... let alone police interviews, job interviews and others - all very different styles and each has its own way of revealing something new.
What might unfold also depends on the level of 'listening'. Winifred Robinson (R4 Today programme presenter), when asked about her job by a group of school students, acknowledged the guidance she received from John Humphreys " all the best questions come from listening".
In his book "Callings" by Gregg Levoy, he describes a Quaker tradition of 'clearness committees' to help a member who is struggling for clarity over an issue. After a moment of silence, the process is simple - the group simply ask questions, nothing more. It works "by assuming the answer is in the focus person seeking clarity and that we help by listening, not by fixing".
Which reminds me of the 'Time to Think' process work of Nancy Kline which works on exactly the same premise - that someone can find their own 'answers' by giving them complete and full attention, listening, and asking insightful questions that free up their limiting thinking.
Now, what's the question?
But they play a part in so many aspects of professional and personal lives. Take 'interviewing' -Desert Islands Discs, In the Psychiatrists Chair, Shrink Rap, Jeremy Paxman, Fern Britton... let alone police interviews, job interviews and others - all very different styles and each has its own way of revealing something new.
What might unfold also depends on the level of 'listening'. Winifred Robinson (R4 Today programme presenter), when asked about her job by a group of school students, acknowledged the guidance she received from John Humphreys " all the best questions come from listening".
In his book "Callings" by Gregg Levoy, he describes a Quaker tradition of 'clearness committees' to help a member who is struggling for clarity over an issue. After a moment of silence, the process is simple - the group simply ask questions, nothing more. It works "by assuming the answer is in the focus person seeking clarity and that we help by listening, not by fixing".
Which reminds me of the 'Time to Think' process work of Nancy Kline which works on exactly the same premise - that someone can find their own 'answers' by giving them complete and full attention, listening, and asking insightful questions that free up their limiting thinking.
Now, what's the question?
.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment