How to Answer When You Don't Know How to Answer

Teams engaged in knowledge work do something over and over again, week after week, day after day: they create new knowledge. Another way to say this is that they ask questions they had not previously asked, and then they find answers to those questions. Briefly, knowledge workers generate business value by forming those questions and then answering them.

For example, the person who contributes to developing a plan for bringing a new product to market is a knowledge worker. So is the person who contributes to the design of that new product.

The knowledge generated by knowledge workers need not be new to humanity, or revolutionary in any sense. But it is new to the people who generate it, or to their organization. Knowledge workers form and answer questions such as:

• "What alloys should we use in the exterior cabinet?"
• "What color of LED should we use for the non-fatal fault indicator?"
• "Are we permitted to ask him if he has been vaccinated for Covid-19?"
• "What version of the C compiler do we need for the on-board software?"
• "How many people will we be laying off at Springfield in Q3?"

Knowledge workers exchange questions and answers in a variety of venues: email, MS Teams, videoconferences, and even face-to-face meetings. One common exchange is in the form of what we often call "Q&A" or "discussion" in meetings. It begins when someone asks a question of someone else. It's a question that has never been asked before in this group, or if it has been asked, the answer needs refreshing. The questioner (Quentin for Questioner) isn't necessarily intending to trap anyone; the question might be novel, but it's legitimate. And, like everyone else in the meeting, the person Quentin targeted (Tracy for Target) doesn't actually know the answer to the question with certainty.

When something When composing a response to a question,
uncertainty can be troublesome if you're
someone who regards as a sign of weakness
anything less than a definitive responselike this happens, "Tracy" (the Target) is on the spot. She knows something about the answer, but not enough, and not with enough certainty. The general principle for finding responses beyond "I don't know" is this: find something useful to say. Here are six guidelines for finding something useful to say when someone asks you a question that you can't respond to definitively.

Recognize questions that will have answers in the near future

The source of Tracy's uncertainty can sometimes be an item with a short lifetime. That is, work underway or planned for the near future might be incomplete right now, but it might resolve some unknowns that would enable Tracy to give a definitive response to the question.

If Tracy recognizes that the question will have an answer in the immediate future, she can respond with something along the lines of, "We can't yet answer that, but Rachel and her team are running simulations that will give us some high quality estimates by early next week." Reporting that work is underway to produce an answer in the near future is a much more useful response than reporting that we don't know right now. It might enable people to make plans.

Employ for-now responses when possible

Sometimes you don't have an answer to the question as it was asked, because it pertains to a specific situation not covered by the knowledge you have. In some such cases, responding with an answer for the situations you can address might be helpful.

For example, consider responding to the question, "Is the catch basin capacity adequate?" A for-now response might be, "The catch basin we have in place does meet current needs, but models indicate that its capacity could be questionable if the development for University Square includes the proposed number of town homes. The amount required depends on the number and style of the homes."

Recognize unanswerable questions

Some questioners are unaware that what they're asking is beyond the ability of anyone to answer. In formulating a response, the temptation is to explain that the question is unanswerable. For example, Quentin might be asking about Person X's intentions. Or he might be asking what Person X knew and when Person X knew it. Such questions might have answers, but obtaining the answers might be so extraordinarily difficult that the question is actually unanswerable.

Explaining to Quentin that the question is unanswerable entails a risk of offending him by seeming to be condescending. A safer approach involves demonstrating that the question can't be answered: "I wouldn't know how to go about getting that information using any methods we have available. Maybe someone else does? Can someone point me in the right direction?" Such requests risk little if the question truly is unanswerable.

Seek consent to reframe the question to one you can answer

Even though you might not be able to answer the question as posed, you might be able to answer a related, but different, question. And your response to that related question might be of some value to Quentin. But reframing question Q to question Q' and then answering Q' can risk seeming to be evasive.

To mitigate that risk, explain that you can't answer question Q as posed, but you do have some related information that might be useful. Then ask for permission to answer the related question: "With your permission, let me offer a response to a related question." Then proceed to form Q', and give your response. Another equivalent form is, "If I may, let me respond to a related question." Mix up a variety of forms to avoid repetitiousness.

Seek information to reduce your uncertainty

Although you might be unable to respond to the question as posed, you might be able to comment definitively about related special cases. Consider what variables you would like to remove or restrict, or consider what related situations you might be able to address.

Preface your remarks with an admission that you can't address directly the question as posed. Then ask permission to comment on related situations, saying "Perhaps those comments would be helpful." Always ask permission, to avoid seeming to be evasive.

Ask whether sources of uncertainty would be useful

Tracy might not know the answer to Quentin's question, but she might know what the missing pieces of the answer are. In response to the question, she can say something like, "We don't yet have an answer to that, but I can tell you what the missing elements are." Then without waiting for permission from Quentin, she can list some of the unknowns.

Often, only questioners who are experts in the subject matter will be familiar with the unknowns related to any open questions. A recital of the most important unknowns can sometimes stimulate fruitful discussion.

Last words

When composing a response to a question, uncertainty can be troublesome. Trouble comes if you're someone who regards as a sign of weakness anything less than a confident, definitive response. This is the dynamic that leads many to preface responses with "I think that…" or "I believe that…". A more direct response might begin with "I can't provide a definitive statement on that. But I do know that the current consensus is…" or words to that effect.

If the current state of knowledge about the subject supports beliefs or opinions, but doesn't support a direct, definitive statement, then provide a direct, definitive statement about the current state of knowledge about the subject.  Top    Next Issue

Do you spend your days scurrying from meeting to meeting? Do you ever wonder if all these meetings are really necessary? (They aren't) Or whether there isn't some better way to get this work done? (There is) Read 101 Tips for Effective Meetings to learn how to make meetings much more productive and less stressful — and a lot more rare. Order Now!

Your comments are welcome

About Point Lookout

Thank you for reading this article. I hope you enjoyed it and found it useful, and that you'll consider recommending it to a friend.

This article in its entirety was written by a human being. No machine intelligence was involved in any way.

Point Lookout is a free weekly email newsletter. Browse the archive of past issues. Subscribe for free.

Support Point Lookout by joining the Friends of Point Lookout, as an individual or as an organization.

Do you face a complex interpersonal situation? Send it in, anonymously if you like, and I'll give you my two cents.

Related articles

More articles on Effective Communication at Work:

Encourage Truth Telling

Getting to the truth can be a difficult task for managers. People sometimes withhold, spin, or slant reports, especially when the implications are uncomfortable or threatening. A culture that supports truth telling can be an organization's most valuable asset.

The Fine Art of Quibbling

We usually think of quibbling as an innocent swan dive into unnecessary detail, like calculating shares of a lunch check to the nearest cent. In debate about substantive issues, a detour into quibbling can be far more threatening — it can indicate much deeper problems.

Reframing Hurtful Dismissiveness

Targets of dismissive remarks often feel that their concerns are being judged as unimportant, which can be painful when their concerns are real. But there is an alternative to pain. It requires a little skill and discipline, but it can work.

Formulaic Utterances: I

With all due respect is an example of a category of linguistic forms known as formulaic utterances. They differ across languages and cultures, but I speculate that their functions are near universal. In the workplace, using them can be constructive — or not.

Obscuring Ignorance

Some people are uncomfortable revealing that they have limited understanding of topics related to the issues at hand. They can't allow themselves to ask, "Pardon me, what does X mean?" Here are a few of the techniques they use to obscure their ignorance.

See also Effective Communication at Work and Effective Communication at Work for more related articles.

Forthcoming issues of Point Lookout

Coming January 22: Storming: Obstacle or Pathway?

The Storming stage of Tuckman's model of small group development is widely misunderstood. Fighting the storms, denying they exist, or bypassing them doesn't work. Letting them blow themselves out in a somewhat-controlled manner is the path to Norming and Performing. Available here and by RSS on January 22.

And on January 29: A Framework for Safe Storming

The Storming stage of Tuckman's development sequence for small groups is when the group explores its frustrations and degrees of disagreement about both structure and task. Only by understanding these misalignments is reaching alignment possible. Here is a framework for this exploration. Available here and by RSS on January 29.

Coaching services

I offer email and telephone coaching at both corporate and individual rates. Contact Rick for details at rbrenjTnUayrCbSnnEcYfner@ChacdcYpBKAaMJgMalFXoCanyon.com or (650) 787-6475, or toll-free in the continental US at (866) 378-5470.

Get the ebook!

Past issues of Point Lookout are available in six ebooks:

• Get 2001-2 in Geese Don't Land on Twigs (PDF, )
• Get 2003-4 in Why Dogs Wag (PDF, )
• Get 2005-6 in Loopy Things We Do (PDF, )
• Get 2007-8 in Things We Believe That Maybe Aren't So True (PDF, )
• Get 2009-10 in The Questions Not Asked (PDF, )
• Get all of the first twelve years (2001-2012) in The Collected Issues of Point Lookout (PDF, )

Are you a writer, editor or publisher on deadline? Are you looking for an article that will get people talking and get compliments flying your way? You can have 500-1000 words in your inbox in one hour. License any article from this Web site. More info