We work a lot within the insurance industry and this story from Matt Fox’s Persuasion Theory blog, really resonated:
A man goes to the doctor and complains that every time he touches his foot he feels excruciating pain.
The doctor writes down a note and asks if it hurts anywhere else.
The man then demonstrates and touches his shin, his thigh, his hip, and his head. With each touch he screams in pain.
The doctor continues examining the man and can’t diagnose the source of the pain. He refers the man off to a specialist.
A few weeks later the man returns to visit the doctor. The doctor eagerly asks if he found out what was wrong.
“Yes,” the man replies.
“He discovered my finger was broken.”
Too often we ask questions that scratch the surface and don’t dive into what really needs to be solved. Often this is out of fear – if I ask a more effective question will I be able to handle the answer to this question?
And the short answer is yes. Great questions, combined with a curiosity to understand, not just hear what is being said, is all that is required.
And by understanding, we often find the solution is closer than we think.