The Rule of Specificity in Every Question
Launch library · evergreen read
A vague question, asked out of politeness or habit, tends to receive a vague answer in return, one that costs the responder almost nothing to give and tells the asker almost nothing they did not already know before the question was raised.
Specificity forces a different kind of answer. Asking what was the hardest part of your week, rather than how was your week, narrows the field enough that the person answering has to actually think, rather than reach for a stock reply out of habit.
This rule applies as much to formal research as it does to a conversation between friends. A specific question signals genuine interest, and people tend to respond to that signal with a specific, considered answer of their own.
Even a small adjustment, replacing a general noun with a concrete one, tends to sharpen a question considerably. Asking about a specific meal rather than food in general, for instance, usually produces a far more vivid and useful answer than the broader version ever could.