15 Great Quotes About Questioning (2024)

15 Great Quotes About Questioning (1)

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Joe Iarocci 15 Great Quotes About Questioning (2)

Joe Iarocci

Coach for executives, teams and boards of directors | Interim nonprofit CEO

Published Jun 6, 2016

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May I ask, do you have a favorite quote about questioning?

Listening may be the most distinctive practice of servant leadership.

But not far behind listening is another distinctive servant leadership practice: questioning.

I often incorporate quotes about questioning into my servant leadership presentations. Let me share some of my favorites.

Here (in alphabetical order by author) are 15 great quotes about questioning:

  1. “The master key of knowledge is, indeed, a persistent and frequent questioning.” – Peter Abelard
  2. “A prudent question is one half of wisdom.” – Francis Bacon
  3. “The one who knows all the answers has not been asked all the questions.” – Confucius
  4. “The most serious mistakes are not being made as a result of wrong answers. The true dangerous thing is asking the wrong question.” – Peter Drucker
  5. “Only the one who does not question is safe from making a mistake.” – Albert Einstein
  6. “The power to question is the basis of all human progress.” – Indira Gandhi
  7. “What are you trying to do – one of the easiest to ask and most difficult to answer of questions.” – Robert K. Greenleaf
  8. “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
  9. “There are no right answers to wrong questions.” – Ursula K. Le Guin
  10. “You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers. You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions.” – Naguib Mahfouz
  11. “Never ask a question unless the answer makes a difference.” – Proverb
  12. “There are no foolish questions and no man becomes a fool until he has stopped asking questions.” – Charles Proteus Steinmetz
  13. “The greatest compliment that was ever paid me was when someone asked me what I thought, and attended to my answer.” – Henry David Thoreau
  14. “It’s better to know some of the questions than all of the answers.” – James Thurber
  15. “Questions are never indiscreet, answers sometimes are.” – Oscar Wilde

Would you like one more for fun? OK, how about this:

“My best attribute is knowing when not to answer stupid questions.” – Gina Gershon

Do you like any of these quotes in particular? Do you have a favorite quote about questioning you would add to the list?

Let us know.

As always, we appreciate your views.

Thanks!

For more about servant leadership in the workplace, visit our Cairnway website.

And download our latest ebook, Servant Leadership in the Workplace: A Brief Introduction. It’s free!

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David Maddess CD

Connector: Building a Just and Verdant Community; Veteran

5mo

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As a practice in analytics and critical thinking recently; I was pondering how to improve my skills in listening and storytelling to more effectively communicate.- Asking better questions leads to better answers.

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Daniel Bede O'Connor

Sustainability. Ideas & process person. Collaborating to fix the damage done to planet Earth.

7mo

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Brilliant article for our times!!!!

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Schuyler Totman, M.A.

Master Coach - Boot Camp for New Dads

8y

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I haven't seen any great quotes on it, but I do know that, pure and simple, listening builds trust.

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Robert Varga, JD, MBA

Chief of Staff, General Counsel, Senior Enterprise Reorganization & Corporate Development Executive, Chief Financial Officer & Trusted Aide-De-Camp to Chief Executives

8y

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Excellent. Used most before in my quotation mailing, but Gershon's a keeper... will be using that Friday. Thanks, my friend.

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Scott Knutson, MBA, M.S. Leadership, ACC

Leadership Coach | Retention Expert | Creator of Leadership Advance: The Un-Retreat for People-Centered Leaders | Retain top talent & attract the best | Passionate about work-life balance & making every game count!

8y

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Great post, Joe! My favorite comes from Lou Holtz: I never learn anything talking. I only learn things when I ask questions.

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15 Great Quotes About Questioning (2024)

FAQs

15 Great Quotes About Questioning? ›

Quote by Tony Robbins: “Quality questions create a quality life.

What is a short quote about questioning? ›

Quotes
  • A prudent question is one-half of wisdom. F. ...
  • One who never asks either knows everything or nothing. F. ...
  • It's very flattering to ask others about matters they're little qualified to discuss. F. ...
  • Why and ""how"" are words so important that they cannot be too often used. F. ...
  • The smart ones ask when they don't know.

What is the quote about the quality of questions? ›

Quote by Tony Robbins: “Quality questions create a quality life.

What are some quotes about questioning and posing problems? ›

“Nothing shapes our journey through life so much as the questions we ask.” “The wise man doesn't give the right answers, he poses the right questions.” “Too often we give our children answers to remember rather than problems to solve.” “Intellectuals solve problems; geniuses prevent them.”

What is a quote about searching for answers? ›

Don't search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.

What is a famous quote about questioning things? ›

Only the one who does not question is safe from making a mistake.” – Albert Einstein. “The power to question is the basis of all human progress.” – Indira Gandhi. “What are you trying to do – one of the easiest to ask and most difficult to answer of questions.” – Robert K. Greenleaf.

What did Einstein say about asking questions? ›

"The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day."

Who said questions are the answer? ›

Questions Are the Answer Quotes by Hal B. Gregersen.

What is a leadership quote about asking questions? ›

An effective leader will ask questions instead of giving direct orders.” Dale Carnegie author of How to Win Friends and Influence People (1936) “The leader of the past may have been a person who knew how to tell, but certainly the leader of the future will be a person who knows how to ask.” Dr.

What is the quote about the person who asks a question? ›

Confucius Quote: The man who asks a question is a fool for a minute, the man who does not ask is a fool for life. The man who asks a question is a fool for a minute, the man who does not ask is a fool for life. | Confucius Quote.

Why questioning is powerful? ›

A powerful question is one that provokes us to think deeply and to engage more intensely in conversation. It leads to a deeper or broader understanding of a subject. It can lead to enhanced creativity and new insights.

What is the quote about asking the wrong questions? ›

"The most serious mistakes are not being made as a result of wrong answers. The truly dangerous thing is asking the wrong questions." (Featured image sourced from Claremont Graduate University.)

What is the quote about asking right questions? ›

The wise man doesn't give the right answers, he poses the right questions. An expert knows all the answers - if you ask the right questions. Asking the right questions takes as much skill as giving the right answers.

What is the most obvious answer quote? ›

Outside of discussions in science and logic, some people casually cite Occam's razor as a handy rule of thumb to make sense of life and all its messes. Occam's Razor: The simplest explanation is most likely the correct one.

How do you quote a question and answer? ›

Question marks should go inside of the quotation marks if the quote is a question. If the quote is not a question, but the sentence is, the question mark should be outside the quotation marks. Examples: The caterpillar answered, “Who are you?”

What is the quote about not having answers? ›

' Just knowing you don't have the answers is a recipe for humility, openness, acceptance, forgiveness, and an eagerness to learn - and those are all good things.

What is a question phrase? ›

a sentence in an interrogative form, addressed to someone in order to get information in reply. Synonyms: interrogation, query, inquiry. Antonyms: reply, answer.

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