By Steve Adubato, PhD

People are obsessed with coming up with the right answers to difficult problems and challenges in the workplace. In school, students are taught to come up with the correct answers in order to get a good grade. Clearly, answers are important, but so are questions. Too often we ignore the value of asking smart, probing, illuminating questions. Lawyers, managers, teachers, doctors and yes, journalists, depend heavily on questions to do their jobs.

Yet, most of us ask questions in a haphazard fashion. We take questions for granted. Even if you've taken a course in communication or public speaking, you probably never incorporate questions into your presentations. With this in mind consider some keys to getting more out of the questions you ask both at home or at work:

• Make sure your questions are clear and easy to understand. Sounds simple, right? Then why is it that too often people will ask the question and you have no idea what they want to find out? Before you ask a question, make sure you know why you are asking it. That will help. (P.S.-Don't ask a question just to be heard. It's irritating.)

• Direct your questions to a particular person. You are more likely to get a direct response. Questions asked of particular people are more effective than simply asking a question of an entire group. Often, when questions are asked of an entire group, people are reluctant to be the first to speak up. Also, it makes it easier for audience members to hide and not participate.

• One at a time. Don't you hate those "three-part questions?" How do you know which part you are supposed to answer first? Did you ever notice that you can't remember what the first part was? Ask one question on one subject to one person and you'll be pleased with the results.

• Follow up on a previous question that has been responded to. Something like, "Mary, how does your answer compare with what Jim said on this subject earlier in the meeting?" Another effective follow-up is a quickie encourager after someone has responded to an initial question like, "How so?" or "For example..."

• Unless you have a good reason for doing it, questions shouldn't be overly confrontational; "Why is it that you never seem to get it right, Bob?" If you are looking to scare the heck out of Bob or let him know he is about to be fired, you've succeeded. Questions like this can cause real communication problems.

• Dorothy Leeds is the author of the book, "The Seven Powers of Questions" (Perigee, 2000). You might call her the queen of questions. She has spent much of her professional life trying to understand how questions fit into the communication equation. Dorothy says that asking the right questions sometimes can save your life. She should know, in 1982 she was diagnosed with breast cancer. After a mammogram, her doctor simply came in to the room and said, "Dorothy, your tumor is malignant." He was prepared to do a radical mastectomy, but she kept asking "What are my options?...There are always options, aren't there?" With her persistence and constant question asking of different doctors, she found one who said a lumpectomy was the way to go. That doctor was right, but none of this would have happened if Dorothy hadn't asked the right questions. Over 20 years later, Dorothy Leeds is still asking the right questions.

What about you? Couldn't you make better use of questions in your everyday communication? Think about it and actively try to do it. Then write to me with your comments or, of course, your questions.