What's the difference between a question and a suggestion?

A key feature of the Murmur Method is that it provides separate opportunities to ask questions, then make suggestions, in two distinct rounds:

Understand (round 1) is all about asking and answering questions to gain clarity. This isn’t the time for feedback or suggestions.
Improve (round 2) is all about sharing and implementing suggestions to improve the proposal and make it safe-to-try for all participants.

So you may be wondering... what’s the difference between a question and a suggestion, anyway?

Here’s the way we think about it:

A question seeks clarification. If you’re unsure or unclear about any element of a proposal, ask the proposer about it!
A suggestion aims to improve a proposal. Participants can do so by highlighting a specific section of the proposal and re-writing it in a way that would make the proposal safe-to-try for them.

For example, if you’re participating in a proposal aimed at helping new hires get settled in with a home office setup, you may find yourself reviewing a section on the budget.

During the Understand round, you may ask a question like “What factors did you consider when deciding on the budget for each employee?”

During the Improve round, you may make a suggestion like “I worry that the budget is too low to meet our needs. What if we increase it to $1,000 per employee?”

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