The Benefits Of Asking Questions

Are you afraid to ask questions? Do you need someone to ask questions for you instead of you asking them? We're afraid to ask questions not because we are afraid to ask them. We're afraid because we don't want to be rejected.

I remember back in high school when my English teacher told us after a lesson he just taught and everybody was just silent and murmuring. He asked us if we would rather fail the subject (because we didn't understood) than ask. Would we rather look like fools because we asked or look like fools because we didn't ask? There's a big difference between the two.

With all these in mind, I therefore conclude that asking questions has the following benefits:

Why Ask Questions

Save Money - Avoid the cost if costly mistakes. Just imagine the cost of drinking the wrong medicine. Had you asked a doctor for proper medication instead of assuming and self medicating then you could saved yourself from a lot of trouble and medical expenses. If not satisfied, ask a little more! Asking questions save you money and it also saves you... (check next item).

Save Time - Because time and money are relative. And this may not just be your time, but also other people's time as well. If you're traveling with someone for example, the extra time you spend searching and walking aimlessly could be time used by the other person to do more productive things like uhmm... Blogging or other things.

Create More Opportunities - Imagine if you asked the girl you like for a date. Imagine if you didn't ask her out. Oh, you care more about your friendship? How about forever with her? That's right buddy, you should care more about the benefits. That one questions "can we go out on a date" could lead for more opportunities like him and her getting married someday, have kids and a happy family. It's the same thing for work, for business and a lot of other things in life.

I remember a time when I used to be so shy at work. I'm in the outsourcing industry and communication was a big factor to a project's success. The result was a failed project and lost client for the company I worked for. It was one of the hardest but also one of the most powerful lessons I learned in life. Ask questions!

Photo Credit: [F]oxymoron