What to Ask When You Don't Know What to Say by Sam Deep and Lyle Sussman

I don't often recommend books that are out of print. However, thanks to the internet, you can still find used copies of this great book, which is why I chose to share it with you now.

I bought my copy in 1993 it had just come out in paperback and I was still an employee at Chevron. I bought it because I knew the power of questions, and as a trainer and leader I wanted to be able to ask better questions.

This book delivers 555 questions (since they are numbered by chapter, I'll trust the count) that are laid out in 19 different general situations (e.g. selling your ideas, meetings, interviewing, managing your workload, etc.) with specific scenarios in each situation.

With each question the authors give you a rationale and some thoughts to go with it - so it's more than a categorized list of questions.

I don't love every question - there are some I would likely never ask as suggested, but there are many excellent ones. Having a copy (especially used and very inexpensive) might help you immensely in any single situation, making it a wise investment.

The biggest value I got from the book initially (though I have referenced it on a number of occasions) was the idea of collecting questions. My question logs are not as categorized as these, but it was from this book that I generated the idea to begin to create my own lists of useful questions - lists that have served me in many ways in the last 15 years.

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