What to Ask When You Don't Know What to Say: 555 Powerful Questions to Use for Getting Your Way at Work [Paperback]

Samuel D. Deep (Author), Lyle Sussman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1993

Asking the right question at the right time is a career-building skill that this guide aims to teach. It provides more than 700 word-for-word questions for responding to virtually every conceivable on-the-job situation, to help clarify problems, solve misunderstandings, and avoid saying something damaging or inappropriate. The guide covers all types of day-to-day encounters and helps readers focus their ideas, bridge conflicting views, build rapport, strengthen relationships and deflect anger and hostility.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

This guide, complete with word-for-word dialogue, contains hundreds of intelligent questions to ask others in all kinds of day-to-day encounters and dealings. (Also available in paper edition ISBN #013-953985-9). --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall Trade (May 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0139539859
• ISBN-13: 978-0139539855
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,711,429 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stop those uncomfortable pregant pauses, May 11, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Birmigham, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: What to Ask When You Don't Know What to Say (Hardcover)

This book is pure gold. It isnt to be used a as reading book but used as pure reference. You will never again be in the situation of being unable to control a meeting phrases such as ' what exactly is stopping us coming to a decision' and 'why did you never comment on my performance over the last year' will become second nature. I have used this book for over a year, using these 3rd party questions to stimulate my own thought processes and those of the people in my meetings.

One to have !!, miss it at your peril.

Bryan Lord

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for any level, December 9, 2001

By 

Robert Arganbright (La Mesa, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: What to Ask When You Don't Know What to Say (Hardcover)

I found this book to be a very useful tool in identifying and solving problems. The first chapter on The Magic of Questions puts the rest of the book into perspective. I also like the way that the book is organized around specific types of problems to be solved. Chapters range all the way from dealing with unreasonable job demands to coworkers stealing credit for your work. I teach at a couple of universities and recommend this book to all of my students. Many have come back to thank me after successfully using this powerful technique.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Questions Galore, September 8, 2003

By 

Larry R. Graham (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: What to Ask When You Don't Know What to Say (Hardcover)

The book may lack depth, but the categories that I read had insightful questions and included explanations of the questions' potency, applicable use, follow-up, and cautions. The questions are designed to head-off problems, solve problems, resolve conflict, make your opinion heard, etc. while helping others save face in a variety of situations.

I see a number of negative reviews. I beleive (and some actually say this) that these are because the book simply was not what they expected, and not that it doesn't have something to offer.