The Executive Voice

Four Questions That Can Change a Conversation

As the pressure to improve company performance keeps increasing, one communication skill becomes even more important: asking better questions.

The conversations leaders have with direct reports, employees, boards, investors and customers shape what they learn, the decisions they make and how well they lead.

Writing in Psychology Today, leadership communication specialist Chuck Wisner suggests four questions that can help us recognise the thinking patterns we bring to conversations.

1. What role am I playing?
Every workplace conversation has a power dynamic, particularly when one person is the boss. You may believe you’re being curious and thorough, while your team experiences micromanagement. Think about not only what you intend, but how your position and behaviour might be interpreted.

2. What story am I bringing to the conversation?
We often enter conversations with an existing explanation of what’s happened and why. That story may contain assumptions, fears and judgements that affect how we listen and respond. Ask yourself whether your version is the only possible interpretation.

3. What’s fact and what’s opinion?
Facts can create common ground. Opinions are shaped by our expectations, concerns, standards and beliefs. Problems start when we treat those opinions as indisputable facts. Before challenging someone, separate what you know from what you’ve concluded.

4. What can I ask to understand the other person better?
Leaders are expected to have the answers so they often default to explaining, advocating and defending. But a better power communication approach is to apply ‘Inquiry’ rather than ‘Advocacy’. Wisner writes: “Good questions open minds and hearts.” Genuine inquiry creates room to uncover concerns, test assumptions and learn what others can see that you can’t.

Strong leadership conversations start with recognising how we think, the biases we bring and the patterns that shape our responses. Secondly, it’s about approaching a conversation with the mind of a good lawyer – knowing that inquiry leads to greater understanding of the other party or situation.

A Conversation with Peter Williams

“Make the situation clear, let people contribute and give them something to say yes to. When you encounter the Department of No, ask: ‘Under what circumstances could you say yes?’“ I invite you to spend three-four minutes with a leader who knows how to turn resistance into a discussion about what really matters …

Use the POW (Purpose, Outcome, Who) Formula

No time to prepare? Whether you only have an hour or 10 minutes, apply the POW method so your persuasive message lands with impact.

PURPOSE: What’s my objective? Is it to win over a hostile or disinterested audience? Educate them about an innovation? Position my team as uniquely capable? Or position my company as the ideal technology partner? The important thing is to nut out ONE objective, not multiple objectives. ONE objective grounds your central premise and stops you getting into the weeds of your speciality area.

OUTCOME: What would you like your audience to think, feel and do once they’ve read your proposal or listened to your presentation? For example, you want them to feel excited and insatiably curious about your unique solution. That means you’re not going to talk about all its features. You’ll present only the most exciting or ground breaking aspect. You want the buyer to think, “Wow, this solves way more problems than we envisaged.” That means communicating business value in a specific way instead of listing fluffy benefit statements. Regardless of how things pan out, decide what you want the buyer to do. For example, you might want them to go straight to their board to review your offer. Holding that thought, how might it change the way you communicate the value of your solution?

WHO: Is your audience technical or non-technical? If technical, how familiar are they with your topic? Are they senior executives who look at the big picture? Or department heads who look after user interests? Imagine how your audience would like you to communicate with them, based on what matters to them and their role. It will help you craft a clear message, no matter how complex the topic.

Use the prompt below to think more deeply – and more quickly – through the POW method.

This week, two AI stories: SpaceX’s soaring spending and the established European tech companies quietly emerging as winners.

AI Spending Sours as the Less Glamorous Players Start Winning

SpaceX reported a 92 per cent rise in quarterly revenue to US$7.8 billion in its first results since listing. Starlink generated more than half of that revenue, but investors focused on the extraordinary cost of Elon Musk’s AI ambitions. Total capital expenditure rose to more than US$18 billion, including US$15.83 billion spent on AI. Despite beating revenue expectations, SpaceX shares fell as investors absorbed the scale of the spending still required. Meanwhile, some of Europe’s established technology companies are emerging as unexpected winners from the AI boom. SAP, Capgemini, Sopra Steria and OVHcloud are benefiting as organisations move beyond experimentation and discover how difficult it is to integrate AI into legacy systems, fragmented data and existing business processes.

What’s Really Being Communicated?
Investors are no longer impressed by ambitious AI spending alone. They want evidence that it will produce sustainable returns. See ‘Phrase of the Week.’

Phrase of the Week

AI Picks & Shovels: A term for the companies providing the infrastructure and services needed to make AI work from chips, data centres and cloud capacity to enterprise software and systems integration. As organisations move from experimenting with AI to putting it to work, these less glamorous providers may become some of the boom’s biggest winners.

A 5-Minute Reset Before an Important Conversation

We rush from meeting to meeting, often without much time to prepare. Then a contentious person, an unexpected challenge or some genuinely bad news can throw us off and affect how clearly and calmly we communicate.

Drawing on the ideas above, here’s a short internal inquiry exercise you can use for five to 15 minutes before an important conversation:

What’s happening?
Separate what I know from opinion or what I’m assuming. What story have I built around them? Let go of the story and stick to the facts – what was said, done, documented – without interpretation.

What am I feeling?
Am I feeling defensive, anxious, frustrated or expecting criticism? How might that affect my tone, judgement or ability to listen? Decide on the tone of voice you’ll use. Once you consciously decide on your tone or attitude, you’re more likely to stick with it.

What do I want?
We usually have some idea of the purpose or topic at hand. Ask yourself, “What do I want to get out of this meeting or conversation? (E.g., intel, insight, facts, data, a different perspective or a decision). Seems simple, but if you don’t ask yourself that question, the conversation might wander into places of no relevance, or you might lose control of a situation that is unfolding.

What does the other party want?
Again, it seems obvious, but busy professionals often forget to reflect on what the other person or group might be asking for or what their true agenda might be. When you pause and ask yourself, “What do they want?”, your brain will comply and offer some good answers. Be generous, yet wise and cautious. Consider their pressures, concerns and priorities. Assume good intent unless you have a clear reason not to.

How do I want to show up?
Choose the behaviour you want to bring into the room: calm, curious, direct, open or steady. It’s surprisingly powerful that when you make a clear intention to behave a certain way, e.g., ‘controlled’, you’re more likely to do so, and your emotions will less likely hijack your analytical, rational brain.

What do I need to ask?
Prepare two or three questions that will help you understand rather than interrogate. Ask them with genuine curiosity.

Finish with this thought: “How can we both leave this conversation with greater understanding and a useful way forward?”

Practised regularly, self-reflexive inquiry helps us steady ourselves, respond calmly and with greater curiosity while maintaining a clear sense of purpose. This in turn helps us find common ground with others, solve problems faster, and create a constructive work environment.

If this helped you think differently about communication, forward this newsletter to someone who leads, sells or explains complex ideas in tech.