Why Technical Writers Need to Learn to Ask Questions? 

“Question everything.”

-Albert Einstein

In technical communication, often technical material is difficult to follow. The jargon and unfamiliar terms make it incomprehensible. In such cases, complex technical materials seem like mirages.

If we have to see through them, then we need to break them through their cause. The background that makes things appear frightening need to be destroyed, so that the concepts or technology can be understood and simplified easily.

#1. So, how can this be done?  

It is by learning the art of asking the right questions.  

We need to ask questions that will lead one from the complex to the simpler and deeper understanding. Once we learn the art of right questioning, we can apply it whenever we feel the technical information is complex and confusing.

Questions start with a quest for learning and understanding and are seen as important tools for unlocking hidden lessons. Questions also introduce a sense of curiosity and humility into the process of learning.

Asking questions is a uniquely powerful tool for unlocking and getting information. 

Questions:

• spur learning and the exchange of ideas

• fuel innovation and performance improvement

• help build rapport and trust among stakeholders

• mitigate business risk by uncovering unforeseen pitfalls and hazards

• make conversations productive

But few technical writers think of questioning as a skill, which is essential to succeed as a technical writer. The good news is that by asking questions, we naturally improve the quality of our content, which in turn makes us better technical writers. 

Great questions do have a catalytic quality in dissolving the barriers and enabling understanding and learning. But, first you have to first spend time in discovering the right questions that lead to the right answers. 

It is all about developing a ‘questioning mindset’.

“It is not the answer that enlightens, but the question.”

– Eugene Ionesco

Clearly, we technical writers as problem solvers need to create a culture of inquiry. We need to intensely examine the problems with a strong and determined resolve to solve them. Right questions unlock assumptions, demand introspection, reveal solutions, thereby increasing quality of the content and transforming customer experiences.

Much of an technical writer’s workday is spent asking various stakeholders for information—requesting Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) for their time to explain concepts and technology, requesting the engineers to explain procedures, and so on.

Yet unlike professionals such as journalists, doctors, and litigators, who are taught how to ask questions as an essential part of their training, few technical writers think of questioning as a skill that has to honed—or how asking the right questions can make conversations with SMEs or various stakeholders productive and save their time. 

That’s a missed opportunity. Questioning is a uniquely powerful tool for unlocking value. For some technical writers, questioning comes easily. Their natural inquisitiveness, emotional intelligence, and ability to read people put the ideal question on the tip of their tongue. But most of the technical writers don’t ask enough questions, nor do they pose inquiries in an optimal way.

Technical writers need to ask questions that SMEs or other stakeholders enjoy answering. In fact, among the most common complaints SMEs or stakeholders make after having a conversation is “I wish [s/he] had asked me more questions that matter” and “I can’t believe [s/he] didn’t ask me any questions.”

#2. Why do some of the technical writers hold back? 

There could be many reasons. Some don’t care enough to ask, or they anticipate being bored by the answers they’d hear. Some may be overconfident in their own knowledge and think they already know the answers (which sometimes they do, but usually they may not).

Some may be egocentric—eager to impress others with their own thoughts and ideas (hence don’t even think to ask questions) Or perhaps some worry that they’ll ask the wrong question and be viewed as rude or incompetent. 

In my opinion, the biggest block is that most people just don’t understand how beneficial good questioning can be. If they did, they would end far fewer sentences with a period—and more with a question mark.

Asking a lot of questions unlocks learning and improves interpersonal bonding.  Technical writers need to have conversations with SMEs to accomplish a combination of two major goals:

1. get information (gathering) and
2. understand (learning).

My experience indicates that we can achieve both by asking the right questions. Ask more questions.

So, the first step in becoming a better questioner is - simply to ask more questions.  

Of course, the volume of questions is not the only factor that influences the quality of a conversation: The type, tone, sequence, and framing also matter. There are several approaches that can enhance the power and efficacy of queries. The best approach is to do your homework and prepare beforehand.

Use the right tone.

SMEs or stakeholders are more forthcoming when you ask questions in a casual way, rather than in an official tone. They are likely to reveal more information in a casual setting than in others.  They are also forthcoming when you tell them that they can change the answers at any point. Rarely, do they end up making changes. This explains the fact why teams or groups find brainstorming sessions so productive.

In a whiteboard setting, where anything can be erased and judgment is suspended, people are more likely to answer questions honestly and say things they otherwise might not. Of course, there will be times when an off-the-cuff approach may be inappropriate. But in general, an overly formal tone is likely to inhibit SME’s or stakeholder’s willingness to share information.

As a technical writer, interviewing SMEs or stakeholders is probably one of the primary components of your day-to-day tasks.  Interviewing is both an art and a science.

Learn this skill like any other skill, and you will be perfect with practice. To approach your interview or conversations in a professional manner, it is important that technical writers are familiar with some of the fundamental principles of human interaction and communication.

A well-structured interview provides both you and your SME with confidence in the process and helps to enhance your professional status.

#3. Never assume, ask?  

Before we even get to ask the questions, we come to the table with a set of assumptions.  Assumptions may help us move forward quicker and provide the crucial context to the issues at hand. They may be powerful too. However, they are also dangerous. Often, technical writers assume things that are not necessarily true. They arrive at certain conclusions based on their thinking on a different set of assumptions. Facts and data are a good way to keep assumptions at check. Aligning assumptions with reality gets us to the actual starting point where a logical discussion can be had and the right questions can be asked.

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#4. Never stop questioning?  

Many freshers are afraid to ask questions, for fear that they will appear to be ignorant. However, questions are the main tool that technical writers use to gather and clarify information. 

Use questions often, for a number of purposes:

• to get information on a specific topic
• to clarify a statement or ask for it to be repeated
• to get information on a related topic
• to challenge basic assumptions

Use both open-ended and close-ended questions. An open-ended question allows the SMEs or stakeholders to clarify and explain. A closed-ended question provides a specific yes/no or amount answer. The answer is either yes or no. 

Typically, technical writers will ask the following questions:

• Why? Why is this feature required? Why is it needed?
• Who is going to use it?
• What? What does this feature do?
• When? When is the feature used?
• Where? Where does it fit into the workflow?
• How? How is the feature used?
• How often? Asks whether the procedure is one-time only or administrative in nature.

#5 Tips for interviewing SMEs  

• Do your homework
• Provide a clear agenda for the meeting
• Schedule short meetings
• Conduct the interview at a quite place without interruptions
• Structure the meeting well. Introduction, main discussion and conclusion
• Learn to listen carefully• Provide ample encouragement  
• Rephrase and play back information in your own words 
• Take ample notes
• Provide a summary of the meeting

Conclusion

“If you do not know how to ask the right question, you discover nothing.”

– W. Edwards Deming

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Questions and thoughtful answers foster smoother and more-effective interactions, They strengthen rapport and trust. They lead groups toward discovery. The willingness or ability to seek novel information increases personal creativity and organizational innovation. The wellspring of all questions is wonder and curiosity and a capacity for delight.

Technical writers pose queries in the belief that the magic of a conversation with SME will produce a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. Technical writers need to be mindful of the trans-formative joy of asking questions for sustained personal engagement and motivation in their lives as well as work.

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