Curiosity mindset

Socrates once said that wonder is the beginning of wisdom. Today, many articles and books are written about curiosity and developing a curiosity mindset. In selling, genuine curiosity is also valued as one of the critical competencies to have. Overall, everybody agrees that it is almost a life hack.

Then, why are we still talking about it since Socrates keep coming back to the same point where we fail to apply it in all fields of life? Why could we not make any progress in using our curiosity to improve?

Because you cannot force yourself to become curious, instead of asking what we need to adopt a curiosity mindset, I asked myself the question of what makes it so difficult. And I came up with an answer…it is all about being judgemental. Genuine curiosity is a byproduct of being non-judgemental. In other words, being judgemental kills our curiosity because the moment you reach a conclusion(judgment), you no longer need to ask questions.

Our brain is a machine of efficiency. It is programmed to provide the highest possible output with the lowest possible energy. Therefore, instead of asking many questions, it gives us shortcuts that lead us to make presumptions and judgments. And it is difficult to hold a second and realize the games our brain plays us. In his famous Thinking Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman explains it through System 1 and System 2 thinking.   

When somebody asks you, “Why are your products highly-priced?” you reach a judgment that they find it too expensive. Then, you would start explaining it defensively and justify your price. On the other hand, a non-judgemental (curious) person would respond, “what makes you say so?” to better understand the question. And it may turn out that the person asking the question may be trying to link your pricing with some high-quality features and convince themselves to pay the premium price.  

This curiosity mindset is a game changer in sales. Yet, it requires a huge work to become non-judgmental. And according to my experience, coaching is the best tool to learn it. That is why I consider coaching a unique sales and life performance tool.