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Tip 516: Remember that few answers are "Off the Record." |
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When someone catches you in the hallway and asks for your "honest opinion, off the record," don't count on its being held in confidence. Even if you respond to the question with a shrug or nod, you might be surprised to hear what you "agreed with" according to the next day's rumors. It's best to take such questions "on the record" in front of a group so that you have witnesses to your response. For example, during the break at a staff meeting, George asks, "So, do you think we'll really ever get management to respond to our suggestions?'' Response: "I imagine that's on everybody's mind. When we reconvene, let me bring that issue up to answer for everybody." And do so. |
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If you really don't want the question to surface in front of the group, ask George to bring it up himself in front of the group and hope he won't because he doesn't want his name attached to the question either. |
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Or try one of these responses: "That's a question I don't have authority to answer. Why don't you write it down and I'll present it to my boss?" or "I wouldn't want to speculate on that because I don't have all the facts and could be wrong. You'll have to ask someone else." |
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Tip 517: Probe for the real interest or concern behind hypothetical questions. |
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With a hypothetical question, you have three choices: |
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1. You can decline to deal in speculations. "I'm sorry, but I don't want to get into what-if situations that we may never have to face" or "I think any speculation would be meaningless on this issue." |
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2. You can speculate, waving a big red flag identifying your answer as purely hypothetical. "I will give that question a stab. Let me remind you that I think such a situation would never, never happen under the plan we developed. However, in that highly unlikely situation, we'd try to . . ." |
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3. You can probe for the real issue behind the question and deal with that issue or concern. Question: "If Jim's diagnosis had been cancer, would we have made an exception?" Answer: "Is your concern with that question that we haven't thought the leave policy through fully? If so, I can assure you that we have considered the treatment of patients who might be off work indefinitely. In those cases, . . ." You would simply refuse to deal with Jim's individual case. |
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Always consider the danger of answering hypothetical questions. Even if you answer them satisfactorily, if the asker's intent is to trap you, the ques- |
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