Can we talk about how you phrase your 'ask anything' questions?

I used to ask super broad stuff like 'what's the meaning of life' and get zero replies. Then about a year ago, I started making them specific, like 'what's the best way to ask your boss for a raise without sounding greedy'. The change happened after I saw a post asking for 'fun facts' get ignored while one asking for 'weird laws in Arizona' got fifty comments. I think a good question gives people a clear place to start. Do you get better answers with big open questions or narrow ones?

3 comments

3 Comments

milam422mo ago

Right? Specific questions just work better.

ninam862mo ago

Yeah, my friend learned that "clear place to start" thing the hard way, @milam42.

phoenixp301mo ago

A PM asking "can you help me with something?" got ignored for 3 days by my contact. Once I sent "need a quick yes or no on the Jackson project timeline" I got a reply in 10 minutes. Short and specific is the only way folks actually respond.