“What happens if you click that?”
“What did you do right before this broke?”
“Is this happening on any other computer?”
I use these questions, or questions like them, a lot when working through an issue with users. And I have a secret…
I usually already know the answer.
This is not intended as a brag. I use these questions to guide someone to a realization, an answer, or a new way to do something. I’m also trying to help build their skills in finding their own solutions to similar problems.
If you haven’t already, you are going to find yourself in similar situations, where you are looking over someone’s shoulder at their monitor and something has gone horribly wrong or they want to make something new. And you 100% know how to do it.
Take the time to go on a journey with them to discover the solution, don’t simply pick them up and place them at the destination.