I've observed executives use a rhetorical question as a way of thinking out loud to themselves.
Unfortunately, to the casual observer or a management consultant, the rhetorical question can be misinterpreted as an opportunity to provide an answer as quickly as possible.
The first step to answering a rhetorical question is to not answer it at all.
Over time, and through some hard knocks, I've learned that silence is your most powerful ally when a rhetorical question is asked.
If you are like 9 out of 10 consultants that feel like you need to fill in the quiet space, you will end up soliciting more questions that you really don't want to answer.
Management consultants want to jump to conclusions and solutions as quickly as possible.
Executives typically want to think through the problem at hand and assess all of the options before making a decision.
The rhetorical question is one way of doing this.
So do yourself a favor. When you hear a rhetorical question, count to 20 before saying anything. It will feel awkward if there is silence. But in this case, silence will answer the question better than you ever will.
Unfortunately, to the casual observer or a management consultant, the rhetorical question can be misinterpreted as an opportunity to provide an answer as quickly as possible.
The first step to answering a rhetorical question is to not answer it at all.
Over time, and through some hard knocks, I've learned that silence is your most powerful ally when a rhetorical question is asked.
If you are like 9 out of 10 consultants that feel like you need to fill in the quiet space, you will end up soliciting more questions that you really don't want to answer.
Management consultants want to jump to conclusions and solutions as quickly as possible.
Executives typically want to think through the problem at hand and assess all of the options before making a decision.
The rhetorical question is one way of doing this.
So do yourself a favor. When you hear a rhetorical question, count to 20 before saying anything. It will feel awkward if there is silence. But in this case, silence will answer the question better than you ever will.
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