A good friend recently asked me why I end so many conversations with the question: “Is there anything else I should know?”
I use this question frequently because years ago on a consulting project I learned an important lesson about conversational endings. At the conclusion of an interview with a manager, I asked if there was anything else we should talk about. The manager paused for a moment, and then stated that she’d recently had an idea. As she began to talk, it became clear that she’d hit upon a workable solution to the very problem that the CEO had hired me to resolve. The next day, she and I presented her proposal to the boss. He endorsed her idea on the spot and, after a few modifications, the solution was implemented across the company. The experience impressed upon me the value of making sure that people have a final opportunity to say whatever they want to before a conversation ends.
Open-ended questions like “Is there anything else I should know?” “What else do you want to tell me?” and “Is there anything we haven’t talked about yet that you’d like to discuss?” invite respondents to speak freely, demonstrate that you aren’t trying to tightly control the conversation, and send a strong signal that their input matters. When people feel like you are genuinely interested in what they are saying, they’ll often open up to you. And when that happens, there’s no telling what you might learn.
Start using open-ended questions to wrap up some of your conversations. Doing so just might generate an excellent idea, bring forth an innovative solution, generate a sincere compliment, or encourage words that bring you and your conversational partner a bit closer together.
Originally posted on mouthpeaceconsulting.com.