When did it become acceptable to preface any question with “Just Curious” so that you can ask anything you want without thinking if it is appropriate?
Just Curious—why did you gain so much weight?
Just Curious—why are you doing it that way even though the lawyers approved it? I read on the internet that is not the right way to do it.
Just Curious—why doesn’t your new short promotion video go into all the details of how something works?
The old way of asking this type of question is, “Why did you do this? Why is this important? “Why?” It puts the person you ask on the defensive and is not the best way to establish rapport.
When you are in sales or working with others, a better question would be, “Can you help me understand XYZ?” Or, “How did you decide to do XYZ?”
Next time you have a question, don’t start with “Just Curious” or “Why.” If you want the person you are asking to not get defensive, be careful how you phrase your question.
The whole goal of communication is to have a collaboration. When you ask “Why” or “Just Curious,” you come from a place that the other person owes you an answer to satisfy your curiosity.
There are literally 100 things ridiculously unprofessional people say:
Here are two favorites of mine from that list to ask others to eliminate:
“I’m so busy!!”
You know what? It’s the mark of our age — everybody’s busy! It’s just that professional people don’t feel the need to remind everyone else of this fact.
“I’m overwhelmed!”
Perhaps you are, and professional people are confident enough to ask for help. However, if you’re exclaiming this looking for pity or permission to slack off, chances are others will see you as unprofessional.
And one more I just heard:
“I’ll get to it when things slow down.” If you’re working at a place that is growing, things don’t slow down!
What phrases are you going to stop using?
Just Curious…. Just Kidding!
John Livesay, aka, The Pitch Whisperer, is a keynote speaker to brands and shares lessons learned from his award winning sales career at Conde Nast. His keynote talk ‘”Getting To Yes” shows companies’ sales teams how to become irresistible so they are magnetic to their ideal clients. After John speaks, the sales team becomes revenue rockstars who form an emotional connection and a compelling brand story with clients. He is also the Co-Founder CMO of http://www.quantm.one that helps homeowners get cash for the equity in their home without taking on more debt.
Get your FREE copy of John’s book “Getting To YES” and learn how to climb the ladder from invisible to irresistible! Download the Free Book here- http://bit.ly/2BbJ5kH
