Being a writer requires so much more than the skills of storytelling and proper syntax. It requires that you also be an active listener with excellent interrogation skills.

I have always considered myself a good listener but it takes more than steady eye contact and a sympathetic ear when your work hinges on whether or not you fully grasp a conversation. A practiced, active listener doesn't just nod and murmur "mmm hmm" and interject "Really? You don't say?" at appropriate pauses in the conversation.

An active listener clarifies the obvious, confirms pertinent information, and asks lots of stupid questions.

An active listener clarifies the obvious, confirms pertinent information, and asks stupid questions. Lots of stupid questions. Yes, everyone's worst fear, asking a question to which everyone else knows the answer (except those few lucky ones graced with a complete lack of self-doubt). The thing is, there are very few things that everyone knows the answer to.

Remember in high school when the teacher would ask after a lesson if anyone had any questions? You probably almost always had one, but no one else raised their hand, so you figured they had it all figured out. Well, they didn't. And they still don't. Whether it be a high school classroom or a professional conference, your peers are just as scared as you are to ask a "stupid" question. The result is, too many people keep their mouths shut and miss the opportunity to learn something new.

The thing is, there are very few things that everyone knows the answer to.

When it comes to interviewing a source for an article or a client for website copy, you have to ask the "stupid" questions. If you don't, your content will lack depth, it will sound amateurish, and it won't be valuable to the reader.

Your reader needs you to answer these basic questions so she doesn't have to read between the lines and spend valuable time searching them out. If you make her work too hard for it, you know what she'll do? Move on to another website. Read a different article. You'll lose her attention and she'll find someone else that states things clearly and makes it easy.

The formula is simple: Do your research, ask pointed questions, listen actively to the answers, and then pick apart those answers and question anything that would leave your target audience scratching their heads.

Ask stupid questions. You'll be much smarter for it and so will your content.

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