Course Overview

Learn to frame precise questions to get better answers
and take control of business converstions

This one-day seminar is designed to help participants increase their problem-solving and decision-making abilities. Developed from more than ten years of research at Stanford University, Precision Questioning & Answering (PQ&A) workshops have been delivered since 1994 to over 16,000 participants worldwide, including IT industry leaders such as Oracle, Microsoft and HP.

PQ&A is a one-question-one-answer discussion format used to ensure better thinking and solutions. This technique stresses how to organize thinking at a profound level and stay at the core of an issue despite increasing volumes of information.

In PQ&A, the questioner uses precise questions to quickly get to the heart of an issue, exposing problems in thinking and key unknowns. The seminar is designed to create a radical increase in productivity and a more efficient use of time. Read More.

Who Should Attend
This workshop is ideally suited to anyone whose work involves complex problem solving, or who wants to improve his/her meeting experience by having less reporting and more time spent on critical thinking. Business Analysts will find this course provides excellent questioning techniques to add to their toolkit. Managers who want to efficiently investigate and understand the thinking of the people who report to them would also benefit.

Benefits and Learning Objectives
Students are encouraged to come to the workshop prepared to discuss a recommended solution to a problem they've been trying to solve. This needs to be a problem they are willing to discuss with another class participant who may or may not be from the same company. Issues under non-disclosure should be avoided. Learning topics include:

• Solving more complex business problems
• Quickly formulating precise questions for any issue
• Surfacing unknown issues, which then become action items
• Accelerating decision making
• Engaging in more effective interaction with executives
• Get the Full Course Outline

Plus, receive valuable takeaways. The workshop manual supplies a complete guide for developing precise questions (PQ) as well as providing precise answers (PA). In addition, a quick reference laminated card that summarizes the 7 categories of PQ and the rules for PA is provided, along with a wallet sized version.

Some comments from past participants:

“Will take my requirements gathering approach to new heights!.”
“Taking away tools I can use! Gained insight into how I think (strength and weaknesses). Really Useful.”
"Good training on critical thinking. I will begin using this tomorrow"
"This has a direct impact on my day-to-day activities"

Read the Instructor Bio: Stacey Dickinson

Other courses led by by this Instructor:

• Cross Group Collaboration
• Peer Mentoring
• Effective Meetings
• Cross Group Collaboration: 2-day Practitioners Workshop

Register early and Save $50. Benefit from 'early-bird' pricing on courses.

March 23              Vancouver, BC            $595 CAD   Register
April 1                   Albuquerque, MN        $595 USD   Register
July 14                Vancouver, BC            $595 CAD   Register
October 14          Vancouver, BC            $595 CAD   Register

Read information on payment, cancellation policy and course locations.