When we were very young children, we asked questions all the time. At that age, we have very little concern about how people around us would think about us, or how people might respond to our questions and observations. When we grow older, we started to socialise which makes our cognitive process shift. Socializing with other people is risky because there’s vulnerability involved. Our behavior is largely determined by whether our acts of vulnerability are rewarded or punished. Hence, we start to think before we ask questions, and we don’t want to ask questions that are interpreted as naïve questions.
While at the mean time, naïve questions are great questions that can be intentionally asked to serve us in life and at work.
I am sure that we have all been in sessions or worked in organizations where nobody wants to ask questions, nobody questions about other people’s thoughts, proposals, and every discussion is business as usual. Now let’s explore and start to make a difference, by exploring the power of Naïve Questions first.
Moving up Psychological Safety Ladders
Asking naïve questions create an inclusive environment where team members feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and questions, regardless of their level of expertise. This can help with inclusion safety, learner safety, and more.
By openly acknowledging what we don’t know and asking for input or clarifications or guidance, we are supporting our teams to build learner safety and building trust. This vulnerability makes members feel improved psychological safety.
Naïve questions can bring in new and fresh perspectives that people may overlook, and can challenge assumptions people hold. They encourage people to think outside the box and consider alternative viewpoints.
Supporting Conflicts Resolution
When there are hot tensions in a group session, asking naïve questions can diffuse tension or conflicts. Naïve questions help promote understanding and empathy. They can help people see each other’s perspectives more clearly.
In addition, naïve questions can help with clarification, encouraging curiosity, problem solving, decision making, and more.
Application of Naïve Questions in Facilitation
Everyone can be a great facilitator, and everyone can utilise their facilitation skills even you are not the designated facilitator.
In facilitation, encouraging naïve questions is a valuable skill. It promotes open communication, fosters a culture of learning, and ultimately contributes to more effective group processes and outcomes.
Naïve questions are often welcomed by participants who feel shy of showing their ignorance, and can be used by facilitators to clarify the meaning of certain concepts. The tricky part is that the question can be used by the facilitator for the facilitator, and this can be also used by the facilitator for some participants.
Now let’s see a couple of examples:
The facilitator may say, ‘This is not quite my area. Could somebody explain this please?”
Another example can be, in a product backlog refinement session, as a ScrumMaster who is facilitating, may ask,
“I am not sure I understand what this new requirement is about. How do you feel?”
Language is powerful and language is beautiful. If you are fascinated with unceasing the power of your teams, facilitation and professional coaching skills can all be great areas to further explore.
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