How asking the right questions already can give the answer
I have already written about how discussing is better than asking questions, because you get a long-term benefit instead of a short-term solution. However, sometimes asking questions is the only thing to do, and sometimes it is the right thing to do. Not to get help from someone else, but to help yourself! Thinking about questions can give you the answer without actually asking anyone.
Let me explain
Some of you may know that I am a freelancer and have been for a long time. My company creates visualisations for scientific purposes and specialises in virtual reconstructions of archaeological content. So you can imagine that I have to communicate a lot with clients (even though I am an archaeologist myself)! Reconstruction is very difficult and involves a lot of discussion. Usually everything needs to be documented one way or another, so instead of using the phone, I’m writing emails. Lots of emails.
If I run into a problem in my project, I usually wait until the end of the day to write to my client to clarify everything that has come up. It might be that I am unsure about something or need a decision on a particular detail. So I write an email. Writing, on the other hand, is sometimes a bit difficult because you have to find the right words to really describe the problem. So I have to think a lot about how to phrase my questions and sometimes even provide pictures to help explain.
The magic happens
This is the key. By thinking about the problem and phrasing it in a way that my client understands what I am talking about, I force myself to think about that particular problem in a particular way. Writing everything down in a clear and understandable way often gives me the answer! 80% of the time I write an email for half an hour and then delete it because the problem has solved itself! No need to bother the customer.
These days I have even started to write down the question without the intention of sending it to my client, because I already know that it might solve my problem. If it doesn’t, I still use the phrasing and write the email anyway. This little trick is a great productivity tip for anyone who needs a problem solved. I also learned that this is called rubberducking, and that programmers actually use a rubber duck to explain their problems to solve them. So get out your rubber ducks!
