Learn and Serve Others By Asking Questions
Many people have questions. However, only a few raise their hand and ask those questions. Others are held back because of fear of embarrassment or the fear of being judged.
When we hesitate to ask something, it is initially because we do not want the people around us to think that we do not understand the discussion. Especially when no one else is raising their hand for questions, we end up having second thoughts, afraid that we’ll just make a fool of ourselves for not knowing what we are about to ask.
There are also instances wherein we don’t ask questions because we think that the questions are not good enough or smartly constructed enough. We sometimes get ahead of ourselves, thinking that what we’re about to ask is not worth it. This time, we fear asking questions because we think that we might be wasting someone’s time for a question that we deemed to be something of basic knowledge, something that we can figure out on our own.
But asking questions for the sake of understanding is a powerful way to grow. The rate of our growth can be a lot higher when we are using others’ knowledge and learning from them than only figuring things out on our own.
Now, how do we overcome the fear of asking questions? As someone known to not shy away from asking questions, I find the confidence to ask questions from knowing that I have put in the effort to find the answer on my own before asking the question. For this, one puts in the effort to get to know the topic first. For example, if you want to clarify some pointers, make sure to review your previous discussion. Moreover, if you want to learn more about the topic and enrich your current knowledge, further reading and researching will allow you to formulate better questions.
The more we ask, the more we learn as asking questions cultivates growth. In addition, asking questions is also a way to serve others. I saw my PhD advisor, Bobby Kleinberg, ask questions to serve others, particularly those who may not ask for help or guidance. In asking questions, we are serving others by voicing out the unspoken questions of others who do not have the courage and confidence to ask them. Personally, people have thanked me multiple times for asking questions that they were not able to ask. Even my coach, John Morgan, acknowledged me for showing up to his Q&A session and asking questions every time.
Asking questions can be nerve-wracking or time-consuming, but taking the effort to do so will not only benefit yourself but also others. So the next time you have an opportunity to ask questions, do not hesitate and ask.
