Communication Isn't About Having the Right Answers. It's About Asking the Right Questions.

For many years, I thought my job was to help people answer questions.

As a BBC journalist, I interviewed politicians, scientists, business leaders, doctors and academics. Later, as an executive communication coach and media trainer, I found myself helping those same kinds of people prepare for interviews, presentations and public appearances.

Over the years, I discovered that the biggest communication challenges rarely came from difficult questions. They came from the way people prepared for them.

But one interview taught me a lesson I've never forgotten.

I was interviewing a very well-known entrepreneur who was promoting a charitable campaign he cared deeply about. He had been thoroughly briefed beforehand and had a clear set of key messages he wanted to get across.

The interview began.

Almost immediately, something changed.

Instead of listening to the questions, he became preoccupied with remembering his briefing.

The harder he tried to recall exactly what he had planned to say, the more unnatural he became.

Eventually he lost his train of thought completely and, for a moment, even struggled to remember the central message of the campaign he was there to promote.

It wasn't a lack of preparation that caused the problem.

It was too much reliance on the preparation.

That interview changed the way I think about communication.

Great communicators don't memorise answers.

They understand their message so well that they can adapt it naturally to whatever question they're asked.

Most communication problems start long before anyone speaks

Recently I've been working with two very different clients.

One is a founder building a new consumer brand. The other is a professional services firm developing a podcast strategy.

On the surface, they couldn't be more different.

One wanted to become a more compelling communicator.

The other wanted to create engaging content.

Yet both projects reached exactly the same point.

Neither organisation had a communication problem.

They had a clarity problem.

The questions that matter

When people think about communication, they often focus on delivery.

How do I sound more confident?

How do I stop using filler words?

How do I answer difficult questions?

Those things matter.

But they're not where I usually start.

Instead, I ask questions like:

• Who are you really trying to reach?

• What do you want people to remember?

• Why should anyone care?

• What makes your perspective different?

• What conversation are you trying to start?

That's why the most valuable conversations often happen before anyone steps in front of a camera or picks up a microphone.

Curiosity beats certainty

Some of the best communicators I've interviewed weren't the people with the quickest answers.

They were the people who paused.

They listened.

Sometimes they challenged the question before answering it.

They understood that communication isn't about demonstrating how much you know.

It's about helping someone else understand.

The questions I return to

Whether I'm coaching a founder, working with a leadership team or preparing someone for a media interview, I find myself coming back to the same questions.

What are you trying to achieve?

Who are you trying to reach?

What do you want people to think, feel or do afterwards?

If those questions are clear, the communication almost always improves.

Everything else becomes much easier.

Final thoughts

It's tempting to believe that great communicators simply have all the right answers.

After more than thirty years as a journalist and executive communication coach, I've come to a different conclusion.

The people who communicate most effectively are usually the ones who ask the best questions first.

The answers tend to take care of themselves.

About the author

Neil McCafferty is a former BBC journalist and executive communication coach. He works with founders, senior leaders and organisations to help them communicate with clarity, confidence and authenticity in media interviews, podcasts, presentations and other high-stakes situations.

Find out more about my Executive Communication Coaching for founders, senior leaders and spokespeople.