Before Answering a Question, Make Sure it’s not Rhetorical

Otherwise, it can get you in trouble.

Cartoon by Lambert-King

Some questions are asked, but aren’t meant to be answered, at least accurately. Over the years, I’ve had bosses ask me questions that clearly weren’t meant to be answered. Or were designed to get me fired if I did answer.

Of course, there are other settings in life where rhetorical questions are asked. These can also be a minefield to navigate. So, let me give you some guidelines in dealing with treacherous rhetorical questions by presenting some examples.

1: “Does a bear do its business in the woods?”

Obviously, it depends on the bear. Is he in a zoo? Is he constipated. Sure, the pat answer is, “yes,” but it could be a trick question. And I could be really overthinking this.

2: “Are you stupid?”

This is obviously a question that shouldn’t be answered. A better question is, “Do you have any self-awareness?” The likelihood of a person being stupid and having the self-awareness to know it is pretty slim.

3: Some questions may seem rhetorical but may actually need an answer. I can across this one, ‘What do they put on a driver’s license…