Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

The basic yes-no question is quite easy to answer. It is either “yes” or “no.” Recognizing the question is a bit more difficult, but not impossible.

There is a type of question for which the answer is either “yes” or “no.” It is quite easy to answer as there are only two answers with one alternative. Okay, right?

There seems to be a difficulty here as many question answer-ers don’t recognize the yes-no question. They want to answer with an explanation containing many words (many “if,” “and,” and “but”).

The yes-now question centers around the English form of the “to be” verb. Examples include:

• Do you have …
• Did you …
• Is this a …
• Can you …
• Are you …

Once we hear those types of words, we only have to say “yes” or “no.”

Often there is another question following the yes-no question. Continue with the discussion, but only after answering the first question first.

• For example, “Did you analyze this?”
• Answer “yes” or “no.”
• If “yes,” the next question could be, “Did you write a report on the analysis?”
• If “yes,” the next question could be, “May I have a copy of the report?”

Pretty simple, huh? If a “no” answer arises, we may take the conversation in one of many different directions.

The answer to, “Did you analyze this?” is not “Well, I could if you want me to.”

The answer to, “Did you write a report on the analysis?” is not “Not yet.”

Let’s keep it simple.

A big part of this simplicity is trust. Both persons trust one another to be honest. Both persons trust one another to have good intentions in the questions and answers.

Once again, we encounter the adage that if you don’t have trust among colleagues, nothing else matters.