In 15 years as a venture capitalist receiving dozens of pitches weekly, Joe encountered only four or five founders who asked him what he was looking for. Everyone else presented at him. The ones who asked questions stood out immediately because they were actually listening — not just performing.
The same pattern shows up in hiring: the candidates that executives get most excited about are invariably the ones who asked more questions than they answered. Asking questions communicates genuine interest in connection and signals that you value the other person’s perspective.
“If you’re asking somebody questions, you’re basically saying: hey, I’m interested in how you think. I’m interested in our connection.”
This applies on stage too. Joe often doesn’t know what he’s going to say when speaking to hundreds of people. He listens, interacts with the audience, and lets the content emerge from that listening place — rather than from a formula designed to impress.
Related Concepts
- Active listening is asking questions
- Listening with unconditional acceptance transforms relationships
- Being interested, not interesting
- Listening is one of the most profound business accelerators
- Hearing objections before deciding — even if you decide the same thing — changes everything