Skip to main content
ASKING-BETTER-QUESTIONS5 MIN READ

Replace Did You With What Happened

Replace an accusatory closed question with a humble open question in a deadline conversation.

Marcus needs the truth about a late legal review deck without turning the conversation into prosecution. Marcus sees the deck is still not ready. We needed the deck at noon. fromTop The next line decides whether Priya defends or explains. fromBottom What happened between the noon plan and now? Correct. It is open, concrete, and non-accusatory. It starts the funnel with the change in events. Did you forget that Legal is waiting on this? Weaker. It is a closed question with blame inside it. The likely response is defensiveness, not useful evidence. Why are you always late on reviews like…

Read the full lesson

Sign up free — one personalized lesson every day, matched to your role and goals.

Already have an account? Sign in

← Back to library
Contact us