All the tools you need

If you want to build a house, open the toolbox and All the tools you need, Use a hammer, saw, or other tool to complete the task. Which tools are in your conversation toolbox?

Building a house means putting a roof on your head. The purpose of the conversation is to transfer knowledge from one party to the other. Returning to the 1948 Shannon-Weaver model, communication usually begins with the sender asking the question and the recipient providing the answer. The Communication Toolbox consists of questions and answers.

Fortunately, we’ve known the question tool for a long time.They pass Opened and closed And that 6-WH question (What, why, who, when, where, how). You learned about interrogative tools in elementary school and have used them for the rest of your life. Use the questions to prepare for your next job interview or make a sales call with your client.

In contrast, if you tell me to grab an answer tool for the next conversation, you’ll probably stare at me expressionlessly. No type of answer can be taught in elementary school or at any age. In other words, there is no framework for organizing the answers. For the first time, we have developed a typology of six answer types (story, metaphor, theory, concept, procedure, action) that can be used in the next conversation. I call this framework Answer Intelligence (AQ) ™. AQ is the ability to provide advanced answers to important questions.

Consider the following important conversations with your child in sales, team, or at home. You will be asked why, what and how to ask. You can use AQ to identify the best answer.

All the tools you need to get the best answer

Questions answered by concept and metaphor

When asked, “what What is your best skill? Job interviews can provide concepts and metaphors. For example, you can discuss leadership as your number one soft skill and define leadership as making people accountable and inspiring others. Second, leadership can provide a metaphor that is like a braided rope. The two strings are strong on their own, but they become stronger when knitted. That is your leadership approach. At every meeting, you lead with inspiration and accountability.

For important conversations, try it for yourself. “What is ____________?” Can define a concept and provide a metaphor.

Why questions are answered with theory and story

In sales, you are asked explicit (or implicit) questions. “why Should I hire you? This question can be answered by theory (often referred to as strategy in the business context). Theory is a description of causality. For example, the theory of a sales organization is:

Involvement → Satisfaction

In other words, your sales team involves the client in decision making, which is the key to increasing client satisfaction. Each sales organization chooses its own value proposition. Instead of involvement, you can focus on other types of value, such as reliability, innovation, and adaptability.

It’s important that you clearly explain your theory (or business strategy) within your sales team and that everyone has the same perception. Also, share your sales theory with your clients to measure your fit.

In addition, you can share stories of involvement. For example, I was once talked about 3.^rd A party cleaning service that cleans office buildings. They became more involved with their customers and got to know them in easy ways, such as remembering the names of employees who worked late during overtime cleaning.

They were also involved in a big way. At one point, a cleaner volunteered to look for a lost wedding ring in the bathroom. It was finally found after more than an hour. Client satisfaction is high, and where other cleaning services are often bid on (in endless competition for bottom prices), this involved cleaning service is considered a valuable partner and is often reunited with them. I escaped the bidding process. client.

For important conversations, try it for yourself. “Why ____________?” Can clearly explain the answer to theory and story.

How to answer questions with steps and actions

The procedure and operation are like baking a cake. When emphasizing a recipe step, it’s a procedure. When referring to a particular step, such as breaking an egg, it’s an action.

As a team leader, youHow Should we finish the project? How to answer a question with steps and actions. As a rule of thumb, the answer to the basic procedure consists of three steps (start, middle, and end). Of course, for more complex tasks, the steps include more steps that can be complicated by feedback loops and decision nodes.

You can also answer the operation question with an action. There are two basic types of actions: best practices and unique. For example, a best practice action when working on a client project is to ask the client how they want to configure the agenda at the beginning of the call (which enhances the engagement theme described earlier). This is a best practice, given the well-known expectations.

In addition, you can share lesser-known or unique actions. For example, during a presentation to a client, if you are using PowerPoint and you press Ctrl + B in presentation mode, the PowerPoint screen will turn black. This is done to give the speaking executive a say (again, it reinforces the concept of involvement described earlier).

For important conversations, try it for yourself. “How ____________?” Can provide step and action answers.

Read a book using all five high AQ practices

The above example is Provide 6 answers (High AQ practice 1). By studying expert communicators, we have identified five high AQ practices that distinguish high answers.

About the author

Dr. Brian Glibkowski is an associate professor of business administration at North Central College, CEO of Semplar Science Corp, and author of the book. Answer Intelligence: Raise AQ Details:

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