Join us as we look to answer one simple question: How can we ask better questions to live better lives?
Episodes
Thursday Jun 13, 2019
Thursday Jun 13, 2019
“Asking the right questions takes as much skill as giving the right answers” - Robert Half
If you were about to put a LOT of money and time on the line to invest in a fledgling startup, what would you want to ask?
Well, that’s what today’s guest, Whitney Sales (Twitter: @thesalesmethod) has to talk about. She is the General Partner and Executive Director of Programming, based in San Francisco, for the top B2B accelerator Acceleprise.
Whitney has 10+ years of startup sales experience and is the founder of The Sales Method, a consultancy that helps startups identify target markets, build successful sales teams and quickly get products to market. She led four companies to the Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Companies list including LoopNet, Joby, Meltwater and SpringAhead.
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Wednesday Jun 05, 2019
Wednesday Jun 05, 2019
One good conversation can shift the direction of change forever. - Linda Lambert
Ever been saw someone and wish you went up to and spoke to them?
In our world of ever increasing isolation and loneliness, I wanted to revisit the lost art of how to start a conversation.
This episode keeps it nice and simple as we look at the 2 fundamental components of how to start a conversation.
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Friday May 03, 2019
Friday May 03, 2019
Successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers.- Tony Robbins
If you can ask one question to build a better connection with someone, what would it be?
Well, that’s what today’s guest, Chris Schembra has discovered. But not only has he uncovered a very powerful question, he’s built a whole business (7:47 Club) around it that since July 2015, 7:47 has worked with over 5,300 leaders, entrepreneurs, and individuals; advised 70+ companies, and sparked more than 300,000 relationships.’
Chris is an accomplished speaker, has his own podcast, advises business, and has been featured in The New York Times, Forbes, HuffPost, VICE Impact, Thrive Global, VarietyMagazine, Bravo TV, Newsmax TV, AMEX OPEN, and many more.
Make sure you follow the Better Questions Better Life on the socials and join in to the conversations using the hashtag #BQBL
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Friday Apr 26, 2019
Friday Apr 26, 2019
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.
– Aristotle
Where do we go from here?
What is the next step in our journey to learn how to ask better questions?
Well, on today’s episode, we reflect on where we’ve been so far and set out the map for where we can to go next.
Make sure you follow the Better Questions Better Life on the socials and join in to the conversations using the hashtag #BQBL
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Thursday Apr 18, 2019
Thursday Apr 18, 2019
“Being different gives the world color.” - Nelsan Ellis
How does a Human Centered Designer think about and ask questions? Well, there are few in the industry better to ask than the talented Chirryl-Lee Ryan. Chi has almost 20 years of experience in visual design, research, and human centered design. She’s worked, and led teams, at some of the most innovative and forward thinking companies in the world including Fjord, Isobar, and Idean.
During part 2 of 2 of her interview, we get into more of the nitty gritty of how she goes about inspiring others to ask questions and techniques she uses to ask questions.
Make sure you follow the Better Questions Better Life on the socials and join in to the conversations using the hashtag #BQBL
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Wednesday Apr 10, 2019
Wednesday Apr 10, 2019
“Empathy is simply listening, holding space, withholding judgment, emotionally connecting, and communicating that incredibly healing message of you’re not alone.” – Brene Brown
What is being empathetic? Is your knowledge undermining your ability to ask questions?
These, and many more questions are asked, and talked about in today’s episode as we focus on shoring up the 3 foundational mindset pillars that everything else in this podcast is built upon. So don’t miss this episode!
Make sure you follow the Better Questions Better Life on the socials and join in to the conversations using the hashtag #BQBL
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Click here to check out part 1/2 of Chi Ryan’s interview here.
Friday Apr 05, 2019
Friday Apr 05, 2019
“We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” - Walt Disney
How does a Human Centered Designer think about and ask questions? Well, there are few in the industry better to ask than the talented Chirryl-Lee Ryan. Chi has almost 20 years of experience in visual design, research, and human centered design. She’s worked, and led teams, at some of the most innovative and forward thinking companies in the world including Fjord, Isobar, and Idean.
During part 1 of 2 of her interview, she talks us through how she goes about asking clients questions as she tackles some very big challenges in some very big companies! She also gives us brilliant insights as to how to inspire others to ask questions as she drives change and innovation.
Chi also has her own podcast which explores many of today’s topics in greater detail and is always high on my own podcast rotation!
Make sure you follow the Better Questions Better Life on the socials and join in to the conversations using the hashtag #BQBL
Make sure to check us out on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Wednesday Mar 27, 2019
Wednesday Mar 27, 2019
A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has. - Margaret Mead
We already know this right? But leveraging a group of diverse people to ask proper questions, can be the most powerful environment to unlock strategies, tactics, and insights which all culminate to success in whatever we are striving for.
However, all of that can quickly become unraveled by our own cognitive processes. What are those? Well, I take some time today to explore of the one major ones that occur in our gatherings. Something that we’ve all experienced before and help to provide some strategies that anyone can use to help manage this and make sure we can successfully unlock the groups potential.
Make sure you follow the Better Questions Better Life on the socials and join in to the conversations using the hashtag #BQBL
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Friday Mar 22, 2019
Friday Mar 22, 2019
“The quality of your life is a direct reflection of the quality of the questions you are asking yourself” - Toby Robbins
What does a high priced Human Capital Consultant, someone with over 15 years of experience working in leading companies, have to say about how to ask better questions? Well it turns out, A LOT!!
This is a rare glimpse into someone who has spent his whole career using questions to recruit, consult, and manage his own personal career to his current role of Director of Consulting in one of the big 4 global consulting firms.
Adam Walker takes us through a range of topics such as how he recruits, how he works with clients, advice he gives to people when they navigate critical moments in their lives, and some of his own personal questions he has used to climb the corporate ladder and achieve high level positions in prestigious companies.
Make sure to check us out on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Wednesday Mar 13, 2019
Wednesday Mar 13, 2019
“ego is the enemy of what you want and of what you have: Of mastering a craft. Of real creative insight. Of working well with others. Of building loyalty and support. Of longevity. Of repeating and retaining your success. It repulses advantages and opportunities. It’s a magnet for enemies and errors. It is Scylla and Charybdis.”
― Ryan Holiday, The Ego Is the Enemy
It’s funny sometimes how our brain can work against us and undermine our own best interest. This episode takes a different path than you’ve heard before on the podcast explores one of the most peculiar of this(at least in my opinion).
What is it you might ask, it’s exploring Self-Serving Bias (a.k.a Your ego). Specially, we talk about how your ego is stopping you from become the best version of yourself and how how it’s stopping you from asking the right questions. How your ego is cutting off the conversation flow and deflecting critical feedback, information, and learnings to help you ask the best questions you can.
Make sure you follow the Better Questions Better Life on the socials and join in to the conversations using the hashtag #BQBL
Make sure to check us out on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Resources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-serving_bias
Thursday Mar 07, 2019
Thursday Mar 07, 2019
"Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom." - Victor Frankl
What does mindfulness and paradigms have to do with being able to ask better questions to live a better life?
Well, today’s interview featuring David Walker, pulls from his years of work as both a Mindfulness teacher and his experience in his Consulting practice.
The concepts that David takes us through on this interview, are critical to shoring up the foundations in which all other techniques and principles of how to ask better questions are built upon.
Make sure you follow the Better Questions Better Life on the socials and join in to the conversations using the hashtag #BQBL
Make sure to check us out on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Tuesday Mar 05, 2019
Tuesday Mar 05, 2019
“Imperfections are not inadequacies; they are reminders that we're all in this together.”
― Brené Brown
As we continue to dive in to human psychology, and explore the underlying processes and algorithms we use to have conversations, we have now come across two very important concepts: Social Desirability Bias & Impression Management.
These two aspects, different sides of the same coin, really rob us of being able to lean into deeper conversations to explore meaning questions and find meaningful answers.
Make sure you follow the Better Questions Better Life on the socials and join in to the conversations using the hashtag #BQBL
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/betterquestionsbetterlife/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dustin-elliott/
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Resources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_desirability_bias
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impression_management
https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/cutting-edge-leadership/201310/the-dangerous-art-impression-management
https://sciencestruck.com/what-is-impression-management
https://epubs.scu.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&context=hahs_pubs
Friday Dec 07, 2018
Friday Dec 07, 2018
What does a People Scientist do? Can you ask too many questions? How do you ask questions to figure out which questions you need to ask?
All these questions and more answered on today's episode featuring Chris Barrell who is a People Scientist working at (one of my favourite companies), Culture Amp.
Chris gives us a unique insight into the science and rigor behind how to conduct surveys in an organisation, shares his own personal questions that has served him well, talks about many of the mistakes companies make when they survey their organisations, and MUCH MUCH MORE!!
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Wednesday Dec 05, 2018
Wednesday Dec 05, 2018
While the world is a gold mine, you need to go digging in other people’s heads to unearth riches. Questions are your pickaxes and competitive advantage. - Tim Ferriss
As we switch gears from the previous epsiodes, we start to dig a little deeper in to some of the challenges we face when it comes to asking good questions. This episode is the start where we will specifically tackle some of the most prevalent biases that hinder us in asking questions.
While the concept of confirmation bias isn’t new to most people, this is an important episode to refresh yourself of this concept as well as get some new tools to make sure you’re not robbed of the opportunities when asking questions.
Make sure you’re following the Better Questions Better Life on the socials and don’t forget to hit that subscribe button!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/betterquestionsbetterlife/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dustin-elliott/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bqbl_
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betterquestionsbetterlife/
Resources:
https://medium.com/swlh/how-to-overcome-cognitive-biases-and-make-better-decisions-daeecd38f910
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/columnist/2018/05/15/fake-news-social-media-confirmation-bias-echo-chambers/533857002/
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/9/8/16263710/fox-news-presidential-vote-study
https://www.valuewalk.com/2018/06/social-media-confirmation-bias/
Links from today’s show:
https://medium.com/swlh/how-to-overcome-cognitive-biases-and-make-better-decisions-daeecd38f910
Monday Nov 12, 2018
Monday Nov 12, 2018
Ever wonder how a Qualitative Researcher asks questions? I know I did!! Ainslie has spent her last 18 years as a Qualitative Researcher and has recently founded a company called Qualie. During our chat, Ainslie talks us through how she has interviewed drug users and terminally ill patients and pulls across some fundamentals around building rapport. Also, she gives us a wonderful breakdown of why the “5 Whys” we’ve all been taught is wrong! Make sure you connect with her on Linkedin, and Qualie’s website. Make sure you follow the Better Questions Better Life on the socials! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/betterquestionsbetterlife/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dustin-elliott/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/bqbl_ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betterquestionsbetterlife/