Questions can be one of the most effective communication tools available to us. Strong relationships, strategic plans, award-winning collateral, and meaningful exchange of ideas and information are all products of asking skillful questions.

If they’re not, your communications could be weak or ineffective, and you may experience miscommunications -- and their effects -- more often than necessary.

Why is the ability to ask skillful questions so powerful? Questions are the means by which we excavate new information, to compare our perspective with reality, and to learn more about what others are thinking and perceiving.

When we don’t ask questions, we’re assuming that we know everything there is to know about the subject or the person. Is this ever the case? Rarely.

The art of asking good questions -- of 'asking into the issue' -- is called Inquiry, and it's an art and practice that can open up whole new worlds of creativity, understanding, exploration, and insight.

The full text of this article provides examples of scenarios and approaches for putting the power of skillful inquiry to work in your interactions, with results that increase with your practice.