Successful Women
Ask Powerful Questions
By Valorie Burton
If you want success at
the next level, you must
be willing to ask powerful
questions. And that means
pushing through your
fears. It means getting
comfortable with being
uncomfortable. It means
being willing to sacrifice the
status quo in favor of the
truth. It means operating
with courage. So how do
you do it?
Pray for It . In my own
experience, one of the
fastest routes to courage
has been prayer. Getting
quiet and centered and
asking for the strength
and courage to pose a
difficult question has always
elevated me to a place of
greater boldness.
Plan for It. Many critical
conversations are not
spontaneous conversations.
When you have a meeting,
an appointment, a
presentation, don’t wing
it. What is the purpose of
the conversation? How
can you be of service to
the person (or people)
on the other side of the
conversation? What do
you need them to do or
to understand? Get clarity
before the conversation
begins. Pinpoint problems
and opportunities you
want to address. Doing so
will diminish your fear as
you identify ahead of time
the obstacles you must
address.
Call Out Your Fears.
One of the fastest ways to
overcome fear is to acknow-
ledge it. So often we pretend
not to feel fear and to try to
brush it aside, which only
makes it grow as an obsta-
cle. Call it out. Honestly state
your fears. Then ask, “And
what if that happens? What
will I do then?”
Take Courage. You don’t
have to feel courageous to
be courageous. The most
successful people don’t
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