Introduction: Why thinking skills matter Eight essential thinking skills for successful enquiry answering 1. What do they really want? Using your analytical thinking skills to understand the question Avoiding misunderstandings Asking the right questions Does all this really work? Agreeing the task Finding out how long you've got Coming next - when the enquirer's not there 2. Why remote enquiry handling is different Anticipating problems by thinking emphathetically Can't see, can't hear - the risk of misunderstanding, even offence Keeping your remote enquirer on-side Keeping good records Coming next - avoiding panic, thinking on your feet 3. Getting started Dealing with the panic by thinking imaginatively Imagining the final answer Choosing the best type of source and delivery medium Does all this really work? Identifying actual sources Coming next - smarter searching 4. Smarter searching Developing efficient search strategies by thinking systematically Who needs to be able to search smarter? Working out your search strategy Searching systematically Making the most of indexes Electronic search tools Reading strategically Making sure that what you find is reliable Coming next - even more things that can go wrong 5. Help! Everything's going wrong Using lateral thinking to get out of difficulties Vital versus urgent tasks Your working timetable Managing expectations Plan B Referrals Coming next - adding value 6. Success! Now let's add some value Using your creative thinking skills to present your answer well Quality-checking your answer Presenting your answer - orally Presenting your answer - in writing Copyright, licensing, ethics Has the answer arrived - and does the enquirer like it? Sign-off: what can we learn from this enquiry? Coming next - adding even more value 7. Don't just give me another reading list! Using critical thinking skills to add further value to your answer POWER and KISS Making your search results manipulable Selecting, rejecting, prioritizing 140 Strategic reading - finding the best bits of each document Capturing the content for your report Now you're ready to write! Making sure your work gets read and valued Coming next - choosing your toolkit 8.

Choosing your toolkit Using your predictive thinking skills to determine the resources you'll need Making best use of your Time, Intellect and Money Keeping track of your enquiries Discovering information in your own resources (and beyond) Choosing and using the right search engine Adding value to your search results Starter Sources Your goal: successful enquiry answering - every time.