Hey Guys!

We are back with the Thursday Forum Best Practices where we discuss about a feature or practice on how you can best utilize MSDN/TechNet Forums.

Today's blog post topic is inspired from our weekly blog posting theme Tuesday Featured Post that was published on a topic Tuesday Featured Post: Confused! Pointing Out Where.

In the above blog post you can see that it talks about how the Original Poster asks a follow up question by pointing out a line where he/she did not understand. One of the benefit of asking follow up question is that it gives you a clear idea about a solution that is provided to resolves the issue you are having. Also,

Reveal Interest: We ask questions when something said catches our attention, surprises us, or when we hear something we want more information about. Asking almost any question is a clear signal that says “Hey! I am paying attention and I want to know more!”

Reveal Gaps in and Strength of Understanding: When a solution is provided, not everything that is said may not be understood the first time. So, by asking a follow up question it can clarify a misunderstanding or explains something in a better way.

Improve Recall: Another benefit is when you ask a question yourself, you are more likely to remember the information you receive. It makes sense – you are likely asking about something that is interesting or relevant to you, and by asking the question you become personally invested in the answer.

Keeps Learners Engaged: By asking follow up question this will help other community members who are new and learning the stuff will build a foundation for new knowledge.

When asking a follow up question you have to keep some points in mind. Like,

• You have to know what you want for an answer
• You have to ask your questions in a manner that gets the best possible information in response

If you see at the forum post the OP's follow up question contains above two point. First the OP highlights the line from one of the answers then ask what was meant by that line.

I hope that this post helps and see you on the next one.

Thank You,

-Ninja Sabah