How about Responding to a question with “That’s a Really Great Question”
f you are a business professional, you’ve heard it thousands of times; you ask someone a question 
and they look at you and say, “That’s a really great question!”
Examples:
- Are your going to hit your sales target? “That’s a really great question.”
- Are we going to launch the new product on time? “That’s a really great question.”
- Do you know what the competition is planning? “That’s a really great question.”
There are many stories and anecdotes on the derivation of the response. The one that I tend to believe the most is that by acknowledging someone’s question by stating, “That’s a really great question,” you are buying yourself 2-3 seconds to think about, formulate, and respond to the question in a reasonable manner. By itself, it is an effective and useful technique that I unfortunately think has become overused and in too many instances has even become patronizing. What I mean by that is I have been observing people listening to others and almost sarcastically saying it knowing full well they don’t really believe it’s a really good question. In the business environment, there may be nothing more offensive than regurgitating a patronizing, canned statement that is sarcastic and inauthentic like “That’s a really a great question you dumb ass.”
Many business leaders think this and other common sense techniques are simply “Business Acumen.” While I think it is part of a Business Acumen culture, this is really something I’ve been calling “Business Intelligence.” Business Intelligence is a foundational skills that is used by business professionals to successfully function in the business environment. I am sure you are aware there are lots of people in the business ecosystem that need Business Intelligence.
So if you are like me and think that the question “That’s a really great question” has become saturated and overused, here are some alternative statements and logic to support them. One thing you will notice – and I recommend – is to try to mix them up and not always use the same response.
All of the ideas below include the utility of buying a few seconds in order to gather your thoughts:
“Thanks for asking that question, let me think about that for a moment…”
In addition to buying a few seconds, it also acknowledges the other person’s effort and it illustrates that you take the question seriously. You are thanking the other person for adding value to the conversation (or situation) and if done sincerely can strengthen the relationship.
“Thanks [FIRSTNAME], you are asking [REPEAT THE QUESTION]?…”
This is a good alternative response so and serves several utilities. By using the person’s first name and thanking them, you are personalizing the situation and making it smooth and non-confrontational. By repeating the question, you are accomplishing several things including making sure you heard it right the first time, making sure others have heard the question, and allowing you time to come back with a clarifying question in case you are uncertain or are looking to change the direction of the conversation.
“Thanks for this question, do you think we can come back to it in a few moments after we have [FILL IN THE BLANK]”
This is a response I would recommend using infrequently because it could come across as being inauthentic. I would reserve this only for situations where you know more information will present itself in the form of more dialogue or other facts and the answer to the question will become apparent to the questioner in a few moments.
In summary, everything in business matters from the time you show up to meeting to the way you respond to questions. These three techniques acknowledge other people, provide time to think, and enable the responder to control the conversation.
