A client in Chicago told me my questions were too broad and it changed how I run my Q&A sessions

I was running a live 'ask me anything' for my online group last month and a client sent me a private message after. She said, 'Your answers are great, but when you ask for questions, you just say 'ask anything.' People freeze up.' So now, I start with a specific prompt, like 'ask about my process for the first 30 minutes of a workday.' Last week, I got three times more questions. How do you guys get people to open up in your AMAs?

2 comments

2 Comments

ellis.jennifer15d ago

Honestly, that part about people freezing up when you just say 'ask anything' is so real. I read this thing once about how our brains hate a blank page, even for questions. Giving a specific prompt like your workday example gives people a starting point to jump off from. It makes the whole thing feel less like a test.

west.claire15d ago

Wait, you read a whole thing about that? That's wild, it's such a small detail but it makes so much sense when you hear it explained. My brain just goes totally blank if someone puts me on the spot with no direction (like in those awkward team icebreakers). Giving a little example is basically giving people the first puzzle piece, so they can find the next one. It seems so obvious once you know, but I never would have connected it to the whole blank page problem myself.