Insights

It has been said that says our success is dependent on the questions we ask ourselves.

I subscribe to this and this is what we explore in the Focussed Fish High Performance Conversation Program.

What type of questions do you think are most powerful in helping a client or a colleague?

It’s amazing what can change with one powerful question.

One insight a program participant had at the debrief during the High Performance Conversations workshop was the power of asking the client what they wanted to happen. What outcome did they want?

Now, that might sound obvious to many of you reading this. Maybe you do this routinely.

However, when you are an “expert” and people have come to you for advice, both parties can often assume that you, as the expert, should determine the outcome.

There was also comments on the powerful positive impact of asking the client for permission to discuss the details of their situation.

Again, it may seem like they have already given you their consent because they have turned up to speak with you!

As we discovered, these two things – asking approval and asking what the other person wants – are incredibly powerful for allowing the other person to share in the conversation as an “equal partner”.

It makes them more relaxed. It does this by giving them the power to choose to enter the conversation which is incredibly empowering. This helps calm the emotional centre of the brain.

Our brains hate being uncertain and not having a choice, so asking approval and what the other person wants provides certainty and choice. This creates a solid base for a conversation.

What do you do to create empowering conversations?