We've already determined that one reason to ask why is to get to a root cause. Why did something happen—or what could explain why something happened? What else is another tool used in this discovery. When ideas start to subside, asking what else stimulates lateral thinking with respect to new possible explanations. What else is a tool to prevent coming to a premature conclusion about what happened—or what to do next.
Physicians use what else often when diagnosing a medical issue. When you visit a doctor and are displaying obvious symptoms, it would be easy for him or her just to say, “Oh, you have a cold.” Asking “What else can cause these symptoms?” could lead to a blood test, strep test, or other questions, such as “Do you have any pain here?” What else continues the investigation—and allows you to discover other potential causes.
A very effective way to ask the what else question is to say “What else could possibly cause this?” The word possibly opens the door to ideas, no matter how remote, that could be a cause. In your automatic mode you might typically discard such unlikely causes, but in critical thinking you consciously evaluate them.
What else can also acknowledge a good idea while keeping the conversation going. For example, why was your product launch so successful? One response might be: “Because we had it so well organized and orchestrated.” Your response might be: “Okay, is there anything else that may have contributed to success?” Someone might add: “Because we applied the lessons from the last launch and this time staffed the phones at a level no one thought we would need, but ended up using.” Keep probing: “Okay, anything else?”
When people communicate, they often surprise one another with their reactions. It's called a miss on anticipatory thinking: “Gee, I thought they would be happy to hear this.” You might ask yourself, “What other (what else) interpretation might be going on here? What else are they involved in that could have changed how they viewed this?”
Here are a few places you can use what else:
The Takeaway
Ask what else to keep the thinking going, to stimulate new ideas and new possibilities, and to prevent premature closure of an issue, idea, or solution.
Exercises for What Else