Seth Godin in his blog today writes about how people waffle when asked for their opinion. Instead of giving their opinion they answer with a question or say something negative to avoid answering. He does not offer a solution other than telling the reader just to give their opinion when asked.
Easier said than done.
Why do people do this? Primarily because they want to be liked or they do not want to rock the boat and cause trouble. If their opinion is received badly they may get hurt, or if they may be perceived as troublemakers and dissenters. What do you do with troublemakers and dissenters? You ignore them or get rid of them.
What if you are the questioner? Your job is to get their opinion. The challenge is to get a person to open up in a way they feel comfortable. To do this I can think of a few things to do.
[I love making lists...]
1. Engage them in a conversation as opposed to an interrogation.
2. State initially what you are trying to achieve.
3. Tell them that you need their input.
4. Show appreciation for their input.
5. Demonstrate that their information will be used as part of the whole where they will not get singled out (unless they want credit, and then show how they will get credit).
6. Tell them about the expected results of your questioning. It may be that you just want to learn and be a better person.
Most people appreciate someone seeking their knowledge. However, they do not want to get hurt by providing it. Remember an earlier post when I stated that the first and foremost on people
