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Praise for Ask More
Deeply insightful, immediately practical, surprising, moving and entertaining all at the same time, Frank Sesno shows us how asking the right questions in the right ways empowers everyone—from famous figures like Colin Powell and Bill Gates to single moms struggling to raise families. One of the absolute essential skills of life, asking questions, as Sesno explains, can help us improve our relationships, find more success and satisfaction in our careers, and, perhaps most importantly of all, lead more fulfilling, interesting lives.
—Brian Baird, former Congressman (D-Washington)
Part memoir, part master class, Frank Sesno’s Ask More draws on his own successes and failures as an interviewer as well as on discussions with an all-star cast to illustrate ways to best ask eleven types of questions ranging from confrontational ones to those creating a legacy. This is a must-read book both for those whose livelihood depends on securing answers to important questions and for those seeking the kinds of memorable conversations with family and friends that are facilitated by thoughtful queries.
—Kathleen Hall Jamieson, co-author UnSpun: Finding Facts in a World of Disinformation. Director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania
Frank Sesno’s book reveals one big secret of leadership: Top leaders use both emotional intelligence and facts to ask the right questions, get the information they need, and solve big problems.
—Farai Chideya, journalist, broadcaster, and author of books including The Episodic Career: How to Thrive at Work in the Age of Disruption
Using rich stories and practical takeaways, renowned journalist Frank Sesno shows us the surprising, powerful ways that questioning can improve our lives—and even our world.
—Warren Berger, questionologist and author of A More Beautiful Question
This book challenges us to take an expansive approach to problem-solving. Frank Sesno shows us how to diagnose a problem or identify an opportunity through incisive and sustained questioning. If we ask with diverse perspectives in mind, we can come up with even bigger and more innovative solutions.
—Susie Scher, Managing Partner, Goldman Sachs
Anyone who seeks good answers to important questions should read this book. In it, Sesno will teach you the art and science of posing superlative questions. Well written and carefully framed, I will certainly assign it to my students.
—Ernest Wilson, Dean of the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California
We are living in a time of declarations and exclamation points. Our public sphere is often not a space of inquiry, but of accusation and polemic. How simple, and how refreshing, to be able to change the channel with Sesno’s Just Ask. Its chapters are filled with ways to think about engaging others in a spirit of open, honest, inquiry—sometimes empathetic, sometimes confrontational, but always in the spirit of making our dialogues more constructive. Whether we are teachers, politicians, executives, plumbers, sons, daughters, spouses, or friends, Sesno reminds us that the art of the question is at the heart of who we are as human beings. A great read—peppered with compelling examples and moving stories of how questions, not answers, have the deeper power to change our world.
—Laurie Patton, President, Middlebury College
Frank Sesno has written an original, fast-moving and thought-provoking book about questions. But the secret is that this book is full of answers, too. From Colin Powell to Jorge Ramos, from an expert roofer to Sesno’s disabled sister, you’ll see how people put questions to work for them. You’ll learn about the simple effectiveness of echo questions, and the power of questions without question marks. Read this book to deepen your own insights into life’s most exciting challenges—how to learn, work, explore and ultimately, how to live. You might find, as I did, that the answers lie mostly in asking the right questions.
—Timothy Shriver, Chairman, Special Olympics
ASK MORE
ASK MORE
The Power of Questions to Open Doors, Uncover Solutions, and Spark Change
FRANK SESNO
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Sesno, Frank, author.
Title: Ask more : the power of questions to open doors, uncover solutions, and spark change / by Frank Sesno.
Description: New York, NY : AMACOM, 2017.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016031122 | ISBN 9780814436714 (hardcover) | ISBN 9780814436721 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Interpersonal communication. | Questioning. | Decision making.
Classification: LCC BF637.C45 S474 2017 | DDC 650.1--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016031122
© 2017 Frank Sesno
All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
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This book is dedicated to Kathy, my forever love; to our children Matt, Emily and Chris and daughter-in-law Emily, our future; and to Lora, our inspiration. Enjoy the journey, share it generously and never stop asking.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I launched this project inspired by questions asked over a lifetime. Navigating the daunting challenges of writing a book, buffeted by the gusts of life and work, proved more difficult and more rewarding than I imagined. The project never would have made it out of my head had it not been for the help and encouragement of some of the most committed and creative people on the planet. First of all, my wife, Kathy, who believed in me and the book in ways that can only be called incredible. Whether it was the first question in the morning or the last word at night, she encouraged me as ideas evolved from concepts to chapters. She read with a dispassionate eye and edited with a steady hand. She made every page better.