Sharpening Your Inquiry Skills

by Paula K. Martin
Founder and an executive consultant for Martin Training Associates

We all know that communication is a critical component of a project manager's job. Up to 90% of a project manager's time is spent communicating and a significant portion of that time should be spent gathering information from others. One way to gather information is through inquiry.

Most of the time we use an informal inquiry process, which is what happens over the course of a conversation when we ask questions. In conversations we typically switch back and forth between inquiry, asking questions, advocacy, and stating our ideas on a subject. "What do you think about the new PM methodology we're adopting?" (inquiry) "I think it's too complex." (advocacy)

Sometimes we need to use a more formal, structured process for gathering information from a person or from a group. An example would be when you are gathering customer requirements. Formal inquiry can also be used in conflict resolution, when you're trying to understand both sides of an issue. The Martin Training approach to formal inquiry is divided into four phases.

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