You Get What You Ask For

I put my son in "time-out" this weekend for hitting. When his 2 minuted were up, I asked him what he wanted to say, and on cue, he parroted a not-particularly-heartfelt "I'm sorry."

So I asked, "Why?"

"Because I want to come out of time out. "

This was an honest correct answer to the question I'd asked, but I'd intended to ask the question "For what are you sorry?"

I guess in parenting, in recruiting, even in life, the questions we ask are as key to getting the relevant information, as the opportunity itself.