We’ve all heard the sentence that you need to ask the right questions in order to get better answers; While it is valid and true in most situations, it could be useless if you were – per example – not being able to interpret the answer one it was given to you :).

On one of my trips to Minsk – Belarus, I needed to perform a relatively simple task that every tourist would’ve done, which was taking the metro; My Russian language was more elementary, meaning that I could construct sentences and have some “decent tourist vocabulary” and could also understand the meaning of a whole conversation all together; the thing is I needed to ask for basic instructions like where to buy tickets and which way to go to Station X from where I stand.

The Funny thing, is that I knew the questions to ask, what I failed to do, was to interpret the different answers I received :), you see you need to be precise on the instruction so you don’t end up somewhere else don’t you?

In our life, we keep looking for answers, some could be philosophical like the purpose of our life or what the future could hold for us, and some could be very simple, like what should you wear on a specific occasion, and while some answers are more simple and further obvious than others,  the way you would seek the answers could differ dramatically… Mainly due to whom you are asking your question? are you asking yourself? are you asking someone else? are you asking The Divine? your guardian angels?

If you are asking a question to someone who only speaks Russian or Spanish, you will need to tailor your question to make sure they understand you, but most importantly, you will need to be prepared to interpret the answer that will follow; whether the answer you were looking for was literate or figurative or even simply silence. 

This Monday’s Tip, is about being prepared, so you don’t miss an opportunity, Communicate clearly on what you want, but most importantly, learn more about the answers you are looking for, so you don’t pass right next to them without noticing.

“Speed is irrelevant if you are going in the wrong direction.”  

~Mahatma Gandhi

Cheers,
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Samer Chidiac is a Sr. Strategist, Author & an International Innovation Expert.

The Monday Tip Weekly blog is part of the “Influencing the Life of Others” project