Comments on: Why Are You Asking Me This Question?

By: Robz

Robz — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 14:36:03 +0000

I’m all about asking questions. Some people say I ask too many questions. :D

By: SteveJ

SteveJ — Thu, 28 May 2009 14:37:20 +0000

You still have to be careful here with option C. The key is paying attention to the question, noting the details, but not getting caught up in them. A great many devs, including myself, are prone to taking tangents. Here’s a common conversation:

Person 1) How do I do X?
Person 2) Why do you want to do X?
1) Well, first A happened, then B, C….
2) Extremely long winded response about why C was the less than optimal choice for this situation.
1) Ok, well that was six months ago. Since then D, E, F…W.
2) Interrupts several more times.

At this point Person 1 is defensive and doesn’t really want to talk to #2 ever again. Which is what you want to avoid. Being avoided by your boss and coworkers pays off in the short term, but then you start to notice you have no idea what’s going on.

By: Max Pool

Max Pool — Tue, 26 May 2009 18:43:41 +0000

@CarolP -

Another good point!

By: CarolP

CarolP — Tue, 26 May 2009 18:34:07 +0000

“Why do you ask?” is a better phrasing than “Why do you need to know?” Less accusatory and less turfy sounding. Unless the information really is something that requires need-to-know authorization, that is.

It’s all in how you phrase the response…

By: Max Pool

Max Pool — Tue, 26 May 2009 17:42:17 +0000

@Mike –

Very good point.

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 26 May 2009 17:23:52 +0000

As someone that usually defaults to option C, I can certainly confirm that people are often offended if you answer a question with “Why do you need to know?”

I seem to have better luck giving people a quick answer, but then following it up with “…but it depends on the exact circumstances. Can you give me more details?”

That way, people don’t feel like you are blocking them, since you provided information right off the bat, but you still get to the bottom of whatever nefarious uniformed decision that they are planning on making.

By: Max Pool

Max Pool — Tue, 26 May 2009 13:10:09 +0000

@Francis –

Sorry if I wasn’t clear, yes, of course you obviously to answer the question ;)

The reason why I don’t use your approach is because it gives away your answer and allows an opprotunity for somebody to simply say “because” or “never mind” and walk away. It immediately puts the power back in their hands which they may misuse…

By: Francis

Francis — Tue, 26 May 2009 09:15:45 +0000

A conversation needs to converge to a conclusion. If you keep answering questions with questions and the other person is doing the same you end up with nothing (apart from the fact that it is hilarious)

A good approach is therefore to give an answer and then ask the question, that way you get somewhere.

i.e. You might say: the system supports both platforms but only under certain conditions … why are you asking this question.