Answered: Why is It Important to Ask Questions?

“Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers”. ― Voltaire

Right from ‘what do you want to eat today?’,‘did you do your homework?’ to ‘when will you pick me up from school?’, we ask and answer many questions today–be it in school, home or playground. 

Questions are an integral part of our lives. Our parents and teachers encourage us to stay curious and ask as many questions as possible and there’s a good reason for that! So today, let’s explore the importance of asking questions and being curious. 

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• Powerful questions that your parents and teachers may ask you
• Top five reasons why it is important to ask questions

Powerful questions that your parents and teachers may ask you

Now that you know the benefits of asking questions, here’s a list of powerful questions that your parents and teachers may ask you to help you become a better learner. They are as follows:

• Reflect:  ‘Can you tell me more about…?’, ‘What did you mean by…?’
• Be positive: ‘What are you planning to…?’, ‘How are you planning to…?’
• Promote discovery: ‘What would you do if…?’, ‘What were you thinking when…?’, ‘How can you apply…?’
• Challenge: ‘How else might you…?’, ‘What is stopping you from…?’, ‘What would happen if…?’ 
• Explore possibilities: ‘What do you think it means…?’, ‘What do you want to learn?’, ‘What have you tried so far?’, ‘What kind of help will you need?’

Top five reasons why it is important to ask questions

Here are a few reasons why you need to ask questions. 

• Builds courage and confidence: Often you may not ask questions in a public setting such as a classroom because you think everyone knows the answer and the question will make you look bad. Telling yourself that questions help us learn a topic better and that the confidence to ask questions will take some practice may help you stay curious and keep asking questions. 
• Improves clarity: If you have questions, that means you are thinking about what is being said by a teacher, parent or what is written in the textbook. The more questions you ask, the more likely it is that you will clarify all your doubts. Once you know that it is okay not to understand something the first time, you will start asking many more clarifying questions. 
• Deepens understanding: Once you develop an interest in the topic at hand and start asking questions and looking for answers, you may find that you will have many more questions. As a result of this, your understanding can deepen, and you may become smarter than you were before. 
• Brings forth new perspectives: Asking questions and searching tirelessly for answers may allow you to think of a topic from many directions. It can bring new perspectives and insights that you may never have thought of before. Questions are also an excellent way to solve problems and make decisions. 
• Improves communication skills: Questions can help you ensure that the whole team is on the same page. It can be a fantastic way of building rapport with others. As you show interest in others by asking relevant questions, your relationships may improve too. 

Asking the right questions is a skill that needs to be developed so that you remain curious and actually benefit from the answers. Like everything else, asking questions is a skill that takes practice. So keep asking questions! All the best!

Reference:

• https://npsjpnagar.com/the-importance-of-asking-questions/
• https://www.ciu.edu/content/importance-asking-questions
• https://www.ride.ri.gov/Portals/0/Uploads/Documents/Instruction-and-Assessment-World-Class-Standards/Instructional-Resources/Data-Use-PD/Turnkey_Data_Conversations_Day_10.pdf

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