Many years ago, I was stuck in a lift. It was only for a few minutes. Little drama unfolded, so it wasn’t exactly movie material!
The lift carriage lurched up and then halted. Silence.
Fortunately, the emergency button was working and a kind member of the facilities team sent a colleague up with a suitably shaped steel rod. With this he was able to prize the doors open.
One small step down for me and I was free.
Interestingly, before my heroic rescue, the man in the control room called up with a progress report to reassure me that help was on its way.
He opened his dialogue with a question: “Are you still there?”
It made me smile.
I guess he was checking I wasn’t Harry Houdini or Spiderman and had made my own escape 😊
Was it a silly question? No, I don’t think it was. The guy was offering some empathy and reassurance to me.
Perhaps, he could have said: “Sorry, this might sound a silly question but I’m just checking you are not an escapologist. Are you still there?” Yes. “Good, one of my colleagues is on his way and will be with you in a few minutes.”
NB: Hopefully, he didn’t use the lift because they were rubbish that day!
Thankfully, we can lean on the wisdom of others when we need to. There’s a famous saying that goes, “There are no stupid questions, only stupid answers.”
While some questions might seem obvious or simple to some, they can be quite meaningful or necessary for others.
Questions are often a way to seek understanding or clarification, and everyone starts somewhere when learning about a new topic or situation.
In essence, no question is inherently stupid if it serves the purpose of gaining knowledge or understanding.
“The advantage of wisdom is that you can play dumb. The opposite is more difficult.” – Kurt Tucholsky.
Thank you for reading.
