Better Questions Better Life Podcast (formerly The Why 2 Podcast)

“Asking the right questions takes as much skill as giving the right answers” - Robert Half If you were about to put a LOT of money and time on the line to invest in a fledgling startup, what would you want to ask? Well, that’s what today’s guest, Whitney Sales (Twitter: @thesalesmethod) has to talk about. She is the General Partner and Executive Director of Programming, based in San Francisco, for the top B2B accelerator Acceleprise. Whitney has 10+ years of startup sales experience and is the founder of The Sales Method, a consultancy that helps startups identify target markets, build successful sales teams and quickly get products to market.  She led four companies to the Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Companies list including LoopNet, Joby, Meltwater and SpringAhead. Make sure you follow the Better Questions Better Life on the socials and join in to the conversations using the hashtag #BQBL Make sure to check us out on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

One good conversation can shift the direction of change forever. - Linda Lambert Ever been saw someone and wish you went up to and spoke to them? In our world of ever increasing isolation and loneliness, I wanted to revisit the lost art of how to start a conversation. This episode keeps it nice and simple as we look at the 2 fundamental components of how to start a conversation. Make sure to check us out on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers.- Tony Robbins If you can ask one question to build a better connection with someone, what would it be? Well, that’s what today’s guest, Chris Schembra has discovered. But not only has he uncovered a very powerful question, he’s built a whole business (7:47 Club) around it that since July 2015, 7:47 has worked with over 5,300 leaders, entrepreneurs, and individuals; advised 70+ companies, and sparked more than 300,000 relationships.’ Chris is an accomplished speaker, has his own podcast, advises business, and has been featured in The New York Times, Forbes, HuffPost, VICE Impact, Thrive Global, VarietyMagazine, Bravo TV, Newsmax TV, AMEX OPEN, and many more. Make sure you follow the Better Questions Better Life on the socials and join in to the conversations using the hashtag #BQBL Make sure to check us out on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.    

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit. – Aristotle Where do we go from here? What is the next step in our journey to learn how to ask better questions? Well, on today’s episode, we reflect on where we’ve been so far and set out the map for where we can to go next. Make sure you follow the Better Questions Better Life on the socials and join in to the conversations using the hashtag #BQBL Make sure to check us out on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

“Being different gives the world color.” - Nelsan Ellis How does a Human Centered Designer think about and ask questions? Well, there are few in the industry better to ask than the talented Chirryl-Lee Ryan. Chi has almost 20 years of experience in visual design, research, and human centered design. She’s worked, and led teams, at some of the most innovative and forward thinking companies in the world including Fjord, Isobar, and Idean. During part 2 of 2 of her interview, we get into more of the nitty gritty of how she goes about inspiring others to ask questions and techniques she uses to ask questions. Make sure you follow the Better Questions Better Life on the socials and join in to the conversations using the hashtag #BQBL Make sure to check us out on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

“Empathy is simply listening, holding space, withholding judgment, emotionally connecting, and communicating that incredibly healing message of you’re not alone.” – Brene Brown What is being empathetic? Is your knowledge undermining your ability to ask questions? These, and many more questions are asked, and talked about in today’s episode as we focus on shoring up the 3 foundational mindset pillars that everything else in this podcast is built upon. So don’t miss this episode! Make sure you follow the Better Questions Better Life on the socials and join in to the conversations using the hashtag #BQBL Make sure to check us out on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Click here to check out part 1/2 of Chi Ryan’s interview here.

“We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” - Walt Disney How does a Human Centered Designer think about and ask questions? Well, there are few in the industry better to ask than the talented Chirryl-Lee Ryan. Chi has almost 20 years of experience in visual design, research, and human centered design. She’s worked, and led teams, at some of the most innovative and forward thinking companies in the world including Fjord, Isobar, and Idean. During part 1 of 2 of her interview, she talks us through how she goes about asking clients questions as she tackles some very big challenges in some very big companies! She also gives us brilliant insights as to how to inspire others to ask questions as she drives change and innovation. Chi also has her own podcast which explores many of today’s topics in greater detail and is always high on my own podcast rotation! Make sure you follow the Better Questions Better Life on the so

A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has. - Margaret Mead We already know this right? But leveraging a group of diverse people to ask proper questions, can be the most powerful environment to unlock strategies, tactics, and insights which all culminate to success in whatever we are striving for. However, all of that can quickly become unraveled by our own cognitive processes. What are those? Well, I take some time today to explore of the one major ones that occur in our gatherings. Something that we’ve all experienced before and help to provide some strategies that anyone can use to help manage this and make sure we can successfully unlock the groups potential. Make sure you follow the Better Questions Better Life on the socials and join in to the conversations using the hashtag #BQBL Make sure to check us out on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

“The quality of your life is a direct reflection of the quality of the questions you are asking yourself” - Toby Robbins What does a high priced Human Capital Consultant, someone with over 15 years of experience working in leading companies, have to say about how to ask better questions? Well it turns out, A LOT!! This is a rare glimpse into someone who has spent his whole career using questions to recruit, consult, and manage his own personal career to his current role of Director of Consulting in one of the big 4 global consulting firms. Adam Walker takes us through a range of topics such as how he recruits, how he works with clients, advice he gives to people when they navigate critical moments in their lives, and some of his own personal questions he has used to climb the corporate ladder and achieve high level positions in prestigious companies. Make sure to check us out on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

“ego is the enemy of what you want and of what you have: Of mastering a craft. Of real creative insight. Of working well with others. Of building loyalty and support. Of longevity. Of repeating and retaining your success. It repulses advantages and opportunities. It’s a magnet for enemies and errors. It is Scylla and Charybdis.”  ― Ryan Holiday, The Ego Is the Enemy It’s funny sometimes how our brain can work against us and undermine our own best interest. This episode takes a different path than you’ve heard before on the podcast explores one of the most peculiar of this(at least in my opinion). What is it you might ask, it’s exploring Self-Serving Bias (a.k.a Your ego). Specially, we talk about how your ego is stopping you from become the best version of yourself and how how it’s stopping you from asking the right questions. How your ego is cutting off the conversation flow and deflecting critical feedback, information, and learnings to help you ask the best questions you can. Make sure you follow the B

"Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom." - Victor Frankl What does mindfulness and paradigms have to do with being able to ask better questions to live a better life? Well, today’s interview featuring David Walker, pulls from his years of work as both a Mindfulness teacher and his experience in his Consulting practice. The concepts that David takes us through on this interview, are critical to shoring up the foundations in which all other techniques and principles of how to ask better questions are built upon. Make sure you follow the Better Questions Better Life on the socials and join in to the conversations using the hashtag #BQBL Make sure to check us out on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

“Imperfections are not inadequacies; they are reminders that we're all in this together.”  ― Brené Brown As we continue to dive in to human psychology, and explore the underlying processes and algorithms we use to have conversations, we have now come across two very important concepts: Social Desirability Bias & Impression Management. These two aspects, different sides of the same coin, really rob us of being able to lean into deeper conversations to explore meaning questions and find meaningful answers. Make sure you follow the Better Questions Better Life on the socials and join in to the conversations using the hashtag #BQBL Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/betterquestionsbetterlife/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dustin-elliott/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/bqbl_ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betterquestionsbetterlife/   Resources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_desirability_bias https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impression_management https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/b

What does a People Scientist do? Can you ask too many questions? How do you ask questions to figure out which questions you need to ask? All these questions and more answered on today's episode featuring Chris Barrell who is a People Scientist working at (one of my favourite companies), Culture Amp.  Chris gives us a unique insight into the science and rigor behind how to conduct surveys in an organisation, shares his own personal questions that has served him well, talks about many of the mistakes companies make when they survey their organisations, and MUCH MUCH MORE!! Make sure you follow the Better Questions Better Life on the socials! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/betterquestionsbetterlife/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dustin-elliott/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/bqbl_ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betterquestionsbetterlife/  

While the world is a gold mine, you need to go digging in other people’s heads to unearth riches. Questions are your pickaxes and competitive advantage. - Tim Ferriss As we switch gears from the previous epsiodes, we start to dig a little deeper in to some of the challenges we face when it comes to asking good questions. This episode is the start where we will specifically tackle some of the most prevalent biases that hinder us in asking questions. While the concept of confirmation bias isn’t new to most people, this is an important episode to refresh yourself of this concept as well as get some new tools to make sure you’re not robbed of the opportunities when asking questions. Make sure you’re following the Better Questions Better Life on the socials and don’t forget to hit that subscribe button! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/betterquestionsbetterlife/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dustin-elliott/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/bqbl_ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betterquestionsbet

Ever wonder how a Qualitative Researcher asks questions? I know I did!!

The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function. - F. Scott Fitzgerald Following up from last week’s episode where we spoke about the two biggest barriers to asking good questions, we want to flip that around now and start to look at two fundamental keys that we can use to unlock good questions. This episode is going to seem basic, and I really hope it isn’t anything new. But at certain times, we can easily lose track of these principles and our ability to learn and explore from all situations quickly dissolves. Make sure you follow the Better Questions Better Life on the socials! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/betterquestionsbetterlife/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dustin-elliott/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/bqbl_ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betterquestionsbetterlife/  

Ever wonder how someone who comes up with apps or design website or experiences? Well, make sure you check Milly Schmidt's interview on the Why 2 Podcast. Milly has a vast career working in designing experiences, products, processes and even organisations. She is also a writer, teacher at General Assembly and all around really smart lady!  Thanks to her strong career and teaching experience, she is able to break down critical question asking principles and provides a lot of hidden wisdom of things you didn't think you needed to know - but you do! Check our her website, and Twitter!  

“Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.”  ― Stephen R. Covey When it comes to asking the best questions to live the best life, we need to address the two biggest enemies stopping you from achieving this. We need to go back to basics and start to make sure that the concepts we will be building over the coming weeks and months aren’t being silently undermined by two silent phenomenon robbing you of your ability to ask good questions. In this episode I talk about: 1.) My own experiences falling victim to these two enemies 2.) Strategies on how to recognising them 3.) And lay down some foundations on how we will continue to address them over the coming weeks and months. Check our the website for links to the podcast/youtube and resources: www.betterquestionsbetterlife.com Links to Fiona Triaca’s Interview on the Why 2 Podcast: https://www.betterquestionsbetterlife.co/why-2-podcast-1/2018/3/7/20-fiona-triaca-the-nuts-and-bolts-of-starting-a-business

Today's episode is part 2 of Narelle Fraser's interview. Narelle is a retired Police Detective with the Victoria Police who has a career spanning 27 years. 15 of those as a Detective at the Rape and Homicide Squads and Missing Persons Unit, but dedicating much of her career to investigating child abuse and sex offences. This interview is an amazing glimpse and rare glimpse in to how she went about asking questions and investigations. Both with victims who had suffered some of the most horrific things a person can experience, and asking questions to those who committed these crimes.  I highly recommend you check our some more episodes where Narelle goes in to more detail about some of the things she experienced in her career.  Link to Australian True Crime (iTunes)   Make sure you follow the Better Questions Better Life on the socials! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/betterquestionsbetterlife/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dustin-elliott/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/bqbl_ Instagram: https:

“Look for people who have lots of great questions. Smart people are the ones who ask the most thoughtful questions, as opposed to thinking they have all the answers. Great questions are a much better indicator of future success than great answers.”  ― Ray Dalio, Principles: Life and Work Welcome back to the second episode of the Better Questions Better Life Podcast all focused around how we can ask better questions to live better lives. This episode is really focused on taking stock of the questions we’re probably asking right now and getting you to start taking stock of some of the questions you’re probably asking that aren’t serving you. I talk about: What pizza and asking good questions have in common. What makes a bad question. Give you a quick list of some of the most common questions we ask, that aren’t serving us. Make sure you follow the Better Questions Better Life on the socials! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/betterquestionsbetterlife/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/du