Samvinas HelpFraming problems as questions
Statements close; questions open. The same difficulty, framed as a verdict — "it's too expensive" — ends a conversation, while framed as a question — "how might we bring the cost down?" — starts one. Turning problems into open, invitational questions is a small habit of language with outsized effects on what a group can do.
The stem: "How might we…?"
Each word is doing work:
- How presumes there's a way — the question asks for routes, not permission.
- might lowers the stakes — answers are candidates, not commitments, so wilder ones can surface.
- we makes it shared — the problem stops belonging to whoever raised it.
"How might we…?" also has siblings worth rotating through when a frame feels stiff: "How to…?", "In what ways might we…?", and — for deliberately widening a hunt — "What might be all the…?".
Before the problem: the wish
Question stems have an upstream relative. Early in Clarify, before anything is defined, the right frame isn't a question but a wish: "I wish…", "It would be great if…". A wish does for goals what "How might we…?" does for problems — it states an appetite without committing to a solution, so many can be voiced before one is chosen. Once a wish is picked, the question stems take over.
Getting the altitude right
A question can be framed too broad or too narrow. "How might we improve the company?" gives a group nothing to grip; "How might we reword the third sentence of the welcome email?" has already decided the answer. Test a frame by asking "why?" (to go broader) and "what's stopping us?" (to go narrower) until the question feels both open and concrete — the Five Whys tool walks this ladder deliberately.
Where Samvinas leans on this
A good brainstorm prompt is a well-framed question — so write "How might we…?" rather than a topic heading. And in PPCO and its relatives, concerns are phrased as questions precisely so they can be overcome rather than merely recorded.
Framing and deferring judgement are partners: one keeps the door open, the other keeps ideas walking through it.