Read the article The Surprising Power of Questions by Alison Wood Brooks and Leslie John. Putting yourself into one of the two scenarios below, what are the two questions you would ask and what are the issues you are trying to understand?

Scenario One

You are a 35 year old professional architect and thinking about your financial situation and trying to plan for the future. You have $50,000 in student loan debt that youd like to pay off, and would like to buy a house within the next 5 years as your family is beginning to outgrow the apartment youre in. While retirement is a long way off, you have been thinking about that lately too.

Scenario Two

You work in the Mergers and Acquisitions department of a Fortune 50 company (note: students, please select from this list http://fortune.com/fortune500/list). The company is growing organically, but the Board of Directors is pressuring the CEO to expand through acquisition as well. You have been charged with identifying potential targets.

Ask questions out of genuine curiosity and need for understanding that provide the responder the opportunity to further that understanding.