A few years ago I caught myself asking a lot of double questions. It goes like this – I ask you a very broad question immediately followed by a second question to help guide you towards your answer.
Here’s an example. I might ask you, “How was the weather yesterday? Did it rain?” See what I did there? I open with a very broad question and then, before you have a chance to answer, I follow it with a specific (often yes/no) related question. Your response to the weather question might be, “No, the rain actually just missed us”. This fascinates me. I’m not sure if the first question helps frame the real question, “Did it rain?”, or is the first question the main one and the second question added to help steer your answer? Either way, the double question is a peculiar adaptation that many people use to make conversations easier.
More examples:
- “How was traffic? Did you make it on time?”
- “How was the party? Was there a good turn out?
- “How was the game? Did you win?”
- “What did she say? Was she upset?”
- “What did he look like? Did he have blonde hair?”
It seems first question breaks the ice for the second question – the real question we want answered. What do you think? Am I crazy for even noticing this?*
See if you notice yourself asking double questions.
*Look, I even do it in my writing!
