Let’s face it – thinking is really a series of questions and answers. It may start when you wake up in the morning with questions like: "What shall I wear, what shall I have for breakfast, shall I drive to work or take the bus?" And then when you get to the office it may be, "What are my priorities for today, how will I manage that email from Dr Smith, who should I call, what are the next steps?" etc.

Ask better questions

We continually ask questions of ourselves and of others. If you are not getting the outcomes you want, it is important to start asking BETTER questions.

A new question can totally shift your focus and the focus of your claimant, moving you into fresh ways of looking at things.

"Quality questions create a quality life. Successful people ask better questions and as a result, they get better answers." -Anthony Robbins

Great questions have an amazing impact on the quality of communication, and build even more effective rapport.

So, what is an example of a better question? Great question! They have 3 main qualities:

1. They change your focus, and therefore impact directly on how you feel.  
2. They allow you to choose something positive to think about at the expense of wasting time dwelling on negatives.  
3. They open up new avenues to previously untapped resources you have available.

Avoid "Why"

Let’s contrast that with a poor question. Think of a time when things haven’t gone quite as planned and ask yourself: Why did you do that?

How does that question make you feel? For most, a ‘why’ question brings about a need to justify their actions and defensiveness. When someone starts to defend their position, they are unlikely to want to make a change.

Interestingly, ‘why’ questions are often found in self-talk when people are stuck and they make for very poor outcomes. Consider: "Why did this happen to me? Why can’t I do this? Why do I have to …?"

Fortunately, we can work with the claimant to open them up to new possibilities with great questions.

Working with the claimant

When the claimant is stuck or caught in negative emotions, they can unwittingly create blocks instead of openings by consistently asking the same questions that produce the same, old unhelpful answers.

Putting the power of questions to work is an important step. Great questions come from wanting to get a great outcome. They are questions that will move them forward and towards taking ownership of their future, rather than being caught up in the noise of now.

Consider these:

• How can we turn this around?
• What would someone who had experienced this and returned to work have thought about that?
• How can we include your strengths as a … in this?
• This will take some determination, so how will you prepare for taking that next step?

And then for those who say “I can’t do this…” consider:

• If you knew that you could do this without risk of failure, what would you do?
• If you could, what would you do?
• If it was possible, what would happen?
• If this was easy, what would you do?  

For those who are caught in blame

So how can you move someone beyond blame to take power over their own life? Well the first question I would ask is, are you too playing the blame game? How are you choosing to work with the client, their lawyers and health professionals? Is that choice serving you and the client?

And then it is time to work with the client in the same way – and with the same respect you would show yourself:

• How are you choosing to think about that old event now? Is that choice supporting you in living your best life? Is there a better way?  
• How are you choosing to work with your health professional, lawyer, insurance company? Are you choosing to give over the running of your life? What is this costing you?  
• Who is driving the bus that is your life?

Questions vs. advice vs. insight

Do you like being told what to do, or do you prefer to come up with the idea yourself?

Being influential means asking great questions to guide to claimant to come up with their own answers. They take ownership, have greater commitment and reclaim some control over their future.

The best approach will see you asking questions 80% of the time, and providing advice and insights for 20%. Most of us have turned this around to 80% telling and 20% asking!

A world of questions is a world of possibility. These are just some examples of great questions you can ask. There are no limits here. Be prepared for conversations like no other.

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Carolyn Mounce has over 20 years experience in workers compensation – both within the regulator and agent environment. She is now the Founder and Director of Success in Life Performance Consulting and Coaching, who work with individuals and organisations developing their ability to influence through leadership, service and strategic thinking approaches.