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Ask. Don't Guess.             Return to Views Directory Page
A lot of people are reluctant to ask direct questions.  Consequently, they often wind up guessing instead of knowing (How can you know the answer if you've never asked the question?), trusting rumors, generalities and pseudoscience (How can you know the truth if you never question secondhand facts?), and seldom getting what they want (How can you get what you want if you never ask for it?).  For any writer, direct questions are the most valuable research tool.  To write confidently you need accurate facts.  There's no room for laziness, pride or fear; no place for guessing or assuming.  For a writer in business, direct questions are the most valuable marketing tool, as well.  To keep clients, you need to ask them regularly how well your service meets their needs and pay careful attention to their answers.

My approach to asking questions is always the same, whether I'm researching a subject or gathering feedback on my business practices.  In general, I:

• Assume nothing but my own ignorance.  I start each project as though I've never heard of the topic.  I gather feedback as though I've never met the client.
  
• Ask the most basic questions.  Much of what I learned in school, from casual reading, or from past writing assignments is outdated or simply wrong.  So I always start project research with the most basic questions: What is your core message?  Who is the target audience? What are your objectives (What do you want your audience to know? What do you want them to do?)  What do you want to say and not say? Who is in the project chain of command?  I have the client demonstrate the product or service they want me to write about.  I ask for definitions of terms and acronyms.
  
  When I survey my clients for feedback on my services, I keep in mind that their needs, politics and perceptions change continuously.  So I stick to the basics here as well: How do you rate the quality of my writing?  My professionalism?  My prices?   What are my strengths?  What should I improve?  What can I do to ensure that we continue to work together?
  
• Listen to entire answers.  I pay attention to the what and the how of the answers.   I don't rush an interview; I let the client finish an answer completeIy before I ask the next question.  I try to hear not only what is being said but what is not being said.  I pay attention to body language.  Often the unspoken part of an answer tells me what's really important and tips me off as to what question I should ask next.
  
• Adopt the client's point of view.  If I pay careful attention, I begin to understand the project from the client's point of view.  And that's where I want to be, because every script, speech, presentation and printed piece that I write should seem like the client wrote it -- not like I learned a few facts and regurgitated them.  Equally important, if I consider feedback from my client's point of view, I gain insight into the person and the organization.  That's essential for anticipating their needs and making them repeat customers.

In writing and in business (and especially in the business of writing), success comes from learning.  And learning comes down to three things: assuming nothing, asking questions and listening to answers.  Of course, it helps to have a ravenous curiosity, too.  But for writers and cats, curiosity seems to come with the territory.

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