BEING THERE WHEN IT COUNTS: Are you reinforcing your biases?

Being There When It Counts with Rick Itzkowich

If you practice any kind of awareness training, you already know the power of questions. However, what you’re probably missing is that you may be asking the wrong questions - without you knowing it! The following excerpt from Dr. Neil Postman, the celebrated Chair of the Department of Culture and Communications at New York University, superbly illustrates this:

"A question, even of the simplest kind, is not, and never can be unbiased. The structure of any question is as devoid of neutrality as its content. The form of a question may ease our way or pose obstacles. Or, when even slightly altered, it may generate totally different answers, as in the case of the two priests who, being unsure if it was permissible to smoke and pray at the same time, wrote to the Pope for a definitive answer. One priest phrased the question 'Is it permissible to smoke while praying?' and was told it is not, since prayer should be the focus of one's whole attention; the other priest asked if it is permissible to pray while smoking and was told that it is, since it is always permissible to pray."

So what biases are you suffering from when you ask questions about networking? With your questions, what beliefs are you reinforcing?

I’ve been a member of Business Networking International (BNI), the world's largest business networking organization, for 11 years. I have also been involved in Social Networking (SN) for the past four years. I see a remarkable synergy between both the offline and the online networking worlds. And yet I’m constantly amazed by the reluctance people from each world have about embracing the other world.

Here are a few of the questions I get asked during my presentations on combining online and offline networking to maximize results. Can you recognize the biases in them? What’s my return on investment (ROI) with networking? How much time do you waste driving to and from events? You have a big network online, but how many of those people do you REALLY know? You claim that I can triple the number of referrals I receive, but what about the quality of these referrals? With these questions do you start to see common "judgmental" threads?

Compare the questions above with these. How can I increase the odds that my social networking will yield a solid ROI? How can I maximize the time I will be investing at this event? How can I capitalize on the value I’ve built with my network? How can I educate my referral partners to receive better quality referrals?

Which set of questions is more likely to yield higher dividends?

Asking better questions is an essential skill in becoming a better communicator. It is also the key to discovery. A great place to start honing this skill is by being aware of our own biases. With awareness, we can purposely examine the biases and see if they are helping us achieve our goals. If they’re not, we can toss them and replace them with new questions that will.

This month’s QuoteAction is by French Philosopher & Writer, Voltaire

"Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers."

Your action is to pay attention to the questions you ask and identify the biases contained in them."

Enjoy an Extraordinary Month!

Click *here* to find out more about QuoteActions and some of the other innovative products and services offered by THE NATIONAL NETWORKER.

As the creator of the QuoteActions, a unique relationship building system, Rick Itzkowich finds his articles, podcasts and blog messages regarding keeping your brand "top of mind" in high demand. His latest eBook, Social Networking for Business Profits, uses cost-effective follow up strategies. Rick is also the Co-founder and Vice President of Productive Learning & Leisure, a personal development training company for corporations and individuals. Rick can be reached at rick@productivelearning.com.

For more about Rick Itzkowich, please click here.







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BEING THERE WHEN IT COUNTS: Are you reinforcing your biases?