Answering a question when you don't know the answer

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

No one knows the answer to everything, so there's no need to pretend like you do. It's tough when you're asked a question that you don't know how to answer. You don't want to come off as someone who doesn't know what they're doing, but you're not sure how to do that if you don't answer the question.

I help out with IT in addition to making these videos. Because Technology plays up from time to time and doesn't do what it should, I come across problems that I don't have solutions to immediately. Now I could pretend I know the answer or give what I think is the answer, but that wouldn't look very good if it turned out to be incorrect. It's better to admit I don't know, than pretend I do and create even more problems.

When answering questions that I don't know the answer to, saying 'I don't know' would only result in people not coming to me when they need assistance. So if I don't give them a guess and don't leave it at 'I don't know', how do I respond to the question when I don't know the answer?

The answer is to reassure those asking, that while you're not 100% certain on the answer, you will look into it.

For example

• 'Good question, I'll find out for you'
• 'I'm not sure, I'll find out and get back to you with an answer'
• 'Off the top of my head it might be x, y, or z, but I'm not sure, let me find out and get back to you'

If you're going to guess like in that last example, you have to make it clear that what you're giving them is a guess and they shouldn't take it as a fact.

I find that most of the time people don't mind waiting, just as long as they get the answer to their question or a solution to their problem. Some may be annoyed that you don't have the answers on hand, but they'd be even more annoyed if you avoided the question, bluffed, or gave them bad advice and made things worse for them. So make sure you emphasise that you'll find the information and get back to them with your findings.

Every job will have specific knowledge that someone doing that job would be expected to know. If you're lacking this knowledge, then it would be in your best interest to learn it. If you continually say 'I don't know' to questions that you should have an answer to, it will eventually end up hurting your credibility and give you a reputation as some who can't help. Still if you don't know the answer, then the best course of action is to say so. You don't want to get a reputation as someone who creates more problems than they solve.

Don't be afraid to admit when you don't know something. Confidently states you're not sure, but you'll find out. With that in mind let me know how you've handled a situation in the past where you didn't know the answer to someone's question.

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