And What Else?

Continuing with this series about the “Unarticulated Question” …those questions our audience members or our prospects have but don’t actually ask!

Last week I talked about the first coaching question I learned from the Center for Executive Coaching - “What would make our time great for you today?” - and how, rightly phrased, it gets to the heart of the issue immediately. The follow up to that question I learned from the book “The Advice Trap” by Michael Bungay Stanier. He called it the “AWE” question.

AWE stands for “And What Else?” Another huge “Duh” for me! Ask that question and guess what…people go deeper. Ask again and deeper they go. I’ve used it to the 5th repetition and have realised it is a terrific opener that gets to what is ‘really’ important. And that all happens without giving any advice!

The author has helped convince me that nobody really needs my advice although many smile, take notes, or thank me. When they are guided with simple questions, they get to go inside themselves just a bit more to discover their OWN brilliance.

In fact, this is a question we can even ask ourselves! Now that is brilliant! What do you think?