Which miracle made you who you are?

This question is one of those distinctive questions posed by Augustin Trapenard, a French interviewer and literary critic; I have long been fascinated by the way Trapenard frames his questions as invitations – not interrogations. He opens spaces in which artists and writers can reveal themselves rather than be revealed. He knows the work of his guests intimately; he reads everything. Yet, he never uses knowledge to dominate. Instead, he deepens the exchange through his finely crafted questions where something genuine can surface and shared discovery can happen.  In the heart of the work of an organizational consultant lies the same craft: asking questions to leaders and their teams that will create spaces where people feel safe, seen, and invited to discover something true about themselves and their system.

I am puzzled how we are now learning to ask “better” questions with AI – because AI forces us to be intentional and clear – while we have been neglecting the discipline of finely crafted questions in real life. When prompting AI, clarity brings better output and specificity faster result. Yet, when asking real humans, like Trapenard asking artists and writers, too much clarity can feel exposing, too much specificity can feel threatening. So maybe this is the combination of the two: AI can teach us to craft questions with precision, while Trapenard can teach us to craft questions with presence. The first will reveal clarity, the second will reveal complexity; a prompt question asks: “give me output”, a Trapenard question asks: “show me who you are”.