The 11 Questions That Will Help You Solve Any Problem
By: Praveen Tipirneni
Tags: Self Improvement, Focus, Team, Problem Solving, Leadership

When confronted with an unforeseen problem, many people’s first internal response is to think, “I don’t know what to do.”

But the truth is, we almost always know more about how to solve a problem than we initially admit.

I discovered this while coaching kids in robotics competitions, where I’m always trying to find new ways to help them develop reasoning abilities. When something goes wrong with one of the robots, and I ask what happened, the kids often tell me, “I don’t know.”

As an adult, the easiest way to handle this is simply to tell them the answer and move on.

That solution can certainly be tempting — especially after a long day of competition — but it doesn’t help the team improve their reasoning skills.

Instead, I ask the kids a set of questions I found in the book Getting to Got It! by Betty K. Garner.

These questions act as focusing tools to help the team slow down, zone in on what they know, and think about the different aspects of the problem at hand.

And here’s the thing — the questions can be useful for anyone. After asking kids these questions hundreds of times, they started becoming an ordinary part of my everyday reasoning ability.

I found that they work just as well in business situations or everyday life. I even noticed myself running through them the other day while working on a problem with my team.

Here are the questions and how to put them to use:

1. What sense do you make of this?

If you notice a problem and ask the people involved, “What happened?” you’re often going to be told, “I don’t know.”

But asking “What sense do you make of this?” is a great way to get around that initial reaction. It forces everyone to think about the problem and the potential paths forward.

I’ve found this one works especially well with kids. Something about the wording makes them pause and start thinking more acutely about the situation.

2. What questions can you think of?

When we’re faced with a difficult problem, it can be tempting to write the whole thing off as one big, unsolvable question.

Instead, it’s better to spend time thinking about some of the smaller aspects of the larger problem. Try to answer the specific questions you have regarding what’s happened so far.

As you start answering smaller questions, the larger problem often comes into focus.

3. What part do you know for sure?

This is the most important question of the bunch because it gets you from the “I don’t know” response to a more nuanced, “Okay, I do know some things.”

I’ve found this question to be very helpful when working with teams. You can actually see people’s “aha” moment when they realize they do know at least something about what went wrong.

And once they’re focused on what they do know, they can begin to build a strategy for dealing with the unknowns.

4. What part do you understand?

This question moves you beyond what you’ve just established you know for certain. It prompts you to consider what areas of the problem you understand, and those you’re still unsure about.

It’s a question that can lead you to some unexpected ideas.

For instance, an aspect you don’t understand may turn out to be surprisingly interesting. And you may end up learning much more than you anticipated as you begin exploring the issue.

5. What do you notice?

This can help you figure out why something didn’t work the way it was supposed to.

At the robotics competition, it works well when the kids have to debug an issue. These aren’t industrial grade robots, so there’s plenty of room for error to occur. For example, one of the competitions was based around using the robots to deliver food to miniature models of people. The primary problem was navigating the obstacles in the robot’s path — using light sensors, gyro sensors, or another method.

When something does goes wrong, asking people what they notice is another great way to get them around the “I don’t know” trap.

They always notice something. Even if it’s a simple observation, it gives them a starting point to work from. And the same goes for any other challenge.

You may not know exactly how to start solving a problem, but you can get the gears turning by identifying what you initially see.

6. What kind of pattern do you notice?

When you’re working towards a solution, sometimes there will be obstacles that require multiple attempts to overcome. When things don’t work the first time, you have to iterate and figure out what to try next.

Identifying patterns in your attempts to problem-solve is a good way to figure out what’s working and what may be holding you back.

7. What do you wish was easier?

Here’s a question that also works to focus your mind on individual portions of the problem and potential solutions.

With it, you’re identifying pain points and setting yourself on a course to solve them.

In the robotics competitions, this is a good way to help point the kids towards a solution without simply telling them where to look. There are always things they wish were easier and would like to solve for.

8. Why?

The follow up is a very basic question, “Why do wish it was easier?”

This question helps you clarify your thought process and relate your earlier desire to something more concrete. Think about why it would be better if this aspect of the problem was easier.

9. What did you understand the question to be?

Sometimes, roadblocks to problem solving are caused by misinterpreting the mission or the goal.

Thinking back to what you originally saw as the question to be answered can help you identify whether or not you’ve been moving down the right path.

If you realize you fundamentally misunderstood the goal of a project, you can still go back to square one and begin again with your new perspective.

10. If you were going to explain this to someone in your own words, how would you say it?

It’s helpful to think about how you would explain the problem to someone with no knowledge of the situation.

Talking about the problem in your own voice is a good way to clarify your thoughts, and it can potentially lead you to new ways of examining the situation. You might be surprised at how many new ideas and interesting thoughts you come up with as you explain a problem to someone else.

11. If you did know, what would you say?

I ask the kids I coach this question when they respond to a question by telling me, “I don’t know.”

It may not work every time, but it’s another way of getting around that initial shrug. Sometimes you can put yourself on the right track to finding a solution by acting as if you already know it.

Often, the standard response of, “I don’t know,” comes from a lack of confidence in our own skills or ability to reason through an issue.

When faced with a tough problem, working through some — or all — of these questions can help guide you toward a solution and build confidence in your problem-solving skills.