Questions, anyone?

When I worked with one company, my late boss always had something good to share with me. His name was Chris Leong Jan Foo .

One of the things that I hold dear to my heart was this session when he asked me a very simple question.

'Rosman, do you know why people ask questions.?

I can't remember what was my reply.

He said, there are at least three reasons why people ask questions.

1. Because they didn't know, and they want answers. For example, when a child ask a parent a question. Curiosity needs to be satisfied. That's why they ask. Or a student asking for clarifications. Teachers must provide the answers.

2. Because they want to test the other person. When a teacher ask a question, students must provide the answer. Based on that, teachers can gauge students performance. When a boss ask an employee work related question, it is also a way to know the knowledge the employees have gathered since the first day. Remedial action can be taken, or sending them to courses to help them become a better person.

3. Because they want to ridicule you. They'll use your answer against you immediately or later in the future. This kind of question normally comes with sarcastic intonation. Beware with this kind of question as you might regret later providing an answer. You can spot this question during argument, debate and so on. They enticed with flowery language. Once you are trapped, they will kill you with your answers. Be careful with this kind of question. He kept on reminding me with that.

What I learnt over the years, it was true. What I observed thus far was that, some people thought they were asking questions. What they didn't realize was that, they were actually opening up a small window into their brain for others to see that it was full of rubbish. Just stay away from these kind of people

I missed those special moment working with him.