How to Ask Questions

The best way to solve a problem is to ask the person who has the key to its solution. Asking the right people the right questions is the pathway to real information - about your workplace, your employees, and your customers. So whether you're solving problems, establishing a better working relationship, shaping your vision, motivating, interviewing, or negotiating, asking the right questions is a vital management technique. Here are the essentials of effective questioning...
1. Understand the purpose of questions. Questions are used for a variety of purposes:
to get information
to clarify a point going
to communicate feelings
to make another person feel good
to gain insight.
Your task is to understand the purpose of your questioning, then to use the types of questions that will deliver the desired outcome. Remember, the more senior your position within the organisation, the more questions you should ask. By asking questions - rather than by attempting to provide answers - you help to keep your organisation 'open', tap into others' accumulated wisdom and insights, and conceal your own agenda.
2. Use the right type of question. The type of question you ask can influence the response; in the hands of a skilled interviewer, a question can be a powerful tool. For example:
Open-ended questions (Why? How?) These explore opinions and attitudes, encourage others to keep talking, and avoid a yes-no response.
Closed or yes-no questions ('Did you see...?') These establish specific fact, elicit a pattern of agreement, or force an unambiguous response.
Leading questions ('Don't you think...?) These suggest the required answers.
Reflective/probing questions ('Are you saying that...?') These restate or reflect what you've heard and invite the disclosure of other information.
Rhetorical questions ('Have you ever wondered why...?') These are used for effect; you do not expect an answer.
Directive questions ('So you agree that...?') These focus on desired outcomes.
'Dumb 'questions ('I don't follow. Could you go over it again, please?') These test the rationale of why things have always been done in a certain way.
Summary questions ('So what you're saying is...?') These check understanding and confirm your interest.
3. Keep your questions simple and direct. Good questions are direct and to the point, worded so that the listener has no difficulty in understanding exactly what the questioner wants. If the response to your question is 'I'm not quite sure what you're asking...', your question was not simple nor direct.
4. Ask questions that are focused. Questions should emphasize only one point at a time. Avoid complex, double-barrelled questions. If you keep your questions concise and brief, you'll not cause confusion and you'll get the answer you're looking for.
5. Move from general to specific. Whenever you want detailed information, if you get too direct too soon you run the risk of creating a defensive attitude rather than encouraging open communication. Start with the general issues and gradually focus on specifics. If you start with difficult or delicate questions, you will only cause the other person discomfort. A person at ease will respond openly and without animosity.
6. Ask the question; then pause. There's nothing wrong with silence. It places the onus to respond on the other person. So, after you ask a question, pause, and use your body language to let the person know that you're waiting for a reply. By nodding your head and minimising your verbal response by using 'mm' or 'yes', you can encourage the other person to keep talking.
7. Don't telegraph an answer. Don't be bluffed by an answer. Remember, sometimes we inadvertently word our questions so that listeners can guess what answer will satisfy us; they give it to us and we are happy. Be alert when asking your question. You need an answer based on facts and information, not on guesswork.
8. Refuse to accept inadequate answers. Be persistent when answers are vague. Seek out the specifics until you are satisfied with the information provided. Remember that powerful word why. If a response is a simple 'yes' or 'no', ask 'why?' This three-letter follow-up is very potent and often elicits information that leads to better decision-making.
9. Don't baulk at unsettling responses. When seeking information or when interviewing, avoid evaluating answers and showing your disapproval, verbally or nonverbally, when someone responds incorrectly or displeasingly. In fact, such answers can help to identify gaps in your knowledge, or indicate to you specific areas where further probing is warranted.