David

  • Quantifying qualitative questions

    Recently, I heard a podcast tip on the power of quantifying question responses to draw out unreserved opinions. I’ve been selectively testing it out with success.

    Most people at work will gauge feedback using qualitative questions. Something like:

    • How did you like the presentation?
    • Did you find the Q&A helpful?
    • How aligned are you with this objective?
    • Did you have a good 1-2-1 conversation with your new boss?
    • I heard you had a tough client conversation. How did it go?

    Qualitative answers to these questions usually suffice. But the potential for miscommunication exists. Perhaps Raj responds, “he really liked the presentation” and that’s his way of saying it was fine, nothing special. While Carmina responds, “she thought it was solid” and that reflects her highest praise.

    Quantification can help you more accurately uncover their feelings. And everyone is familiar with a 10-point scale. Like this:

    • On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate the presentation?
    • On a scale of 1-10, how aligned are you with this objective?
    • I heard you had a tough conversation. On a scale of 1-10, how challenging was it?
    • Etc…

    It’s a simple and effective trick. I find it particularly useful when you’re asking for feedback in a group setting, where there tends to be peer pressure to respond in alignment with the group and to limit verbal explanation. If I ask everyone “are you aligned with this?” I’m likely to get a “yes, I’m aligned” type of response. If I ask everyone to rate their alignment on a scale of 1-10 privately and then share it afterwards, I’ll receive more clarity on their individual feelings. And if you try it out and every response is a 7 or 7.5, follow-on by asking for a new rating out of 10, but 7s and 8s aren’t allowed.

  • M(34) seeking long-form content

    I have a long drive (10+ hours) coming up in the next few weeks and am seeking recommendations for a) podcasts (particularly long-form, 1+ hour format) and b) audio-books.

    Please forward any recommendations to daveowencord@gmail.com! You can’t reply directly to this mailing (for now).

    Thank you!

  • Dump the pleasantries

    Last week I had two people share some pleasantries with me. Words matter and inauthentic pleasantries get thrown around more than they need to. And I am absolutely guilty of having said these phrases myself. They can easily become a habit and take some intention to avoid.

    • “Let’s catch up soon!”

    I bumped into someone unexpectedly in a professional setting (virtual meeting). Someone I have a loose personal relationship with. At the end of the call, as we were wrapping up, they said “Let’s catch up soon”! I’m certain this person doesn’t really have an interest in catching up soon, nor do I really have an interest in finding a new, separate time to catch up with them. So we both smiled and hopped off the call, and I’m sure there will be no related follow up. It was simply a pleasantry… and a bad habit.

    If you aren’t planning to follow through, don’t suggest it. This situation happens often; a common example is bumping into someone on the street or at an event, and they say “So nice to see you! Let’s get together for a catch-up! Bye!” and that is where things end. Worse is when you bump into that same person for the second, third, and fourth times and the same inauthentic offer is repeated.

    You don’t have an obligation to schedule catch up time with someone just because you happen to bump into them. It’s ok to have a nice exchange and leave it there. And if you really, truly, do want to see that person and catch up, that’s great! Follow through.

    • “I don’t want to take up too much of your time.”

    Someone requested a 30 minute conversation with me to help them out with something and I happily obliged. After 11 minutes, we had covered all the questions they had. So they said, “Well, I really don’t want to take up too much of your time. Have a great day. Bye.” I couldn’t help but think, actually, you asked for 30 minutes and I accepted and already committed the time to chat with you, so you did in fact want to take up some time. I know he was simply sharing a pleasantry and probably intended to be polite. But it’s also just as easy to say “Alright, I think we’ve covered everything we need to. Have a great day. Bye.”.

    …And maybe noticing both comments is a small step toward becoming a curmudgeon. I hope not!