Sunday, May 23, 2010

Powerful Questions: Peter Block's Advice from "Community"

So I finished Peter Block's "Community". A book formatted with a colorful cuban exterior, and rich pages in between, "Community" (2010) is Block's investigation into building solid communities. I'm not going to dive into the whole book, but rather would want to dive into a section of the book that could be applicable for a lot of people

Do you know the power of a question? Block says a powerful question is more important then a powerful answer. A powerful question can be dissenting, it can be building, it can be timely, it can be thought-provoking and it can lead to the unearthing of higher values.

Often our questions in everyday life are pitifully bland.

How are you? What's new?

Nothing wrong with these questions, but they do keep the status quo. They are questions you ask that will get regular responsive answers. I guess thats good if you like the status quo, but they are not growth questions.

Block shares that powerful questions have three qualities

1) They are ambiguous - These questions are not linear, they make no attempt to give the other person the "right answer". Ambiguity, ironically, grabs a listener's attention. If a question is asked and the intent is unknown, it leaves the possibily for a deeper understanding. The most immediate example I can think of is flirting. You aren't going to get very far with someone asking surface level questions. Ask something daring, be playful, be coy, be anything but boring, right? Or in a professional manner, beneath a critical question, maybe you can ask it with the intent to help grow a person. Help a person up when their down through a deep-cutting question.

2) They are personal - Every great question is going to relate to the listener.

Even when a politician speaks in a vast crowd, they completely target the speech to individual action. If you can speak to a person authentically, then you have a clear line of communication. Non-personal questions are okay, "what's the weather like", "that's a pretty cool car, isn't it", but don't expect them to lead to individual or community growth.

3) Evokes Anxiety - We need a call to action. Why does it matter now? What happens if we don't make this decision? A powerful question taps the immediacy of the situtation. As Block writes "No edge, no power".


Using these three qulaities in substanitive way, we can take a person from being crestfallen to being estatic.

Consider these great questions (all from Block)

How valuable do you plan for this effort to be?

What is your contribution to the very thing you complain about?

What is the crossroads you face at this stage of the game?

What is the story you keep telling about the problems of this community?


Don't wait on some "leader" to ask the powerful questions. You have the power, you have the ability, just ask the questions.

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