ABSTRACT
THE QUESTION IS A key constituent of the DNA of interactional life. In our communication courses we use an exercise in which we ask four volunteers to come to the front of the class. We then instruct them to carry on a conversation about ‘the events of the week’. The only rule is that no one is allowed to ask a question. Two things happen: first, the interaction is very stilted and difficult; second, someone very quickly asks a question. To continue with the above analogy, in the absence of questioning DNA, the communication organism often becomes unstable and eventually dies.
