Power Questions: Build Relationships, Win New Business, and Influence Others

Other Questions That Are Clichés
“What has surprised you?”
This is a question people love to ask someone who has taken on a new job or been
through a significant new experience. But there's no good answer that is honest and
positive at the same time. If you're surprised about something, it implies you were naïve
and didn't know what you were getting yourself into! If you say nothing has surprised
you, then you risk coming across as complacent or insensitive. Barry Glassner, the
President of Lewis and Clark College, put it this way in the Wall Street Journal:
“If I had a thousand dollars for every time I've been asked that question—What has
surprised you?—in the seven months I've been in my new position as a college
president, I could buy a well-equipped Lexus. It's the ultimate ‘gotcha’ question. .
.every answer is perilous.”

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Here are the questions I prefer to ask instead: “What have you been focusing on
most during your first six months on the job?” or “Have you developed a longer-term
agenda yet for your role?”
“What question haven't I asked?”
A well-known marketing expert calls this his killer question for wrapping up a sales
call. This question-about-a-question is a patently obvious attempt to make your
prospective customer a coach to you in your sales process rather than an adversary. It's a
somewhat manipulative, cutesy attempt to say, “We're really on the same side of the
table here. . .give me some advice on how to be a more effective salesperson!” Like
“What keeps you up at night,” it's also overused.
There are many more like this. They fall into the same category as the “get them
saying ‘yes’ three times before you ask” approach that you should shun.
Here are the questions I prefer to ask instead: “Are there any issues we haven't
discussed that you think are relevant to this particular challenge?” or, “Is there anyone
else you think I should I talk to in order to get additional perspective on this issue?”

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