Guidance on different questioning techniques, positive enquiry and open questions, closed, leading and loaded questions, pitfalls and pointers Image credit: <a>artqu / 123RF Stock Photo</a>

1. Questions
The Fine Art of Questioning

2. Types of Question
 Closed
 Open
 Leading
 Loaded
 The skill of facilitative Questioning

3. Its about Enquiry NOT
Avocacy
Don’t you
What Think!
do
you
think?

4. The Extraordinary Power of
Questions
 The most powerful
tool in the Meeting
Owner, Chairman or
facilitators armory
 Questions request
responses
 Question elicit
creativity and ideas
 BUT Poor Questioning
close these off

5. Kipling‟s 6 Honest serving Men
 Nearly always
precede an open
question
 Useful for covering
ground
comprehensively

6. Open Questions Contains no
element of
the answer
No pressure
on
respondent
Maximise
opportunity to
expand
e.g. What effect on your career do you think your unfortunate dress
sense has had? NOT AN OPEN QUESTION

7. Closed Questions
 Essential in right  Used to get information
place  Move things on
 Can feel  Ask non contentious
interrogative things
 Do not give space  Gather facts
for explanation  Elicit a yes or no answer
 Do not leave options  “ What is your name?”
in how to answer
 “ Do you want to take a
 “ Are you ill?” break?”

8. Downsides of Closed
Questions
 Dangerous if they force
„uncomfortable disclosure
 Can be leading or loaded
 Can take you into difficult
psychological areas

9. Leading or Loaded Questions
 Like Icebergs 90% of these lies
below the surface
 A leading question contains a
specific answer being sought..
 “You are the obstruction to
progress here aren’t you?
 BEWARE of “Don’t you think?”
it usually precedes a loaded
or leading question
 A loaded question contains
an unjustified or
unsubstantiated assumption.

10. Facilitative Questioning
 Essential in Meetings
 Enquiry not Advocacy
 Open Questionsing
 Draw Out
 Use Follow up Questions
“ Can you say more about
that ?”
There are times when
Closed Questions are
appropriate – “ What time
do we need to stop by?”

11. Questioning Pitfalls
 Asking more than one question in the
same sentence.
 Loaded questions – “You do want to
stop this topic now don‟t you Sally?”
 Confusing or very long questions.
 Following a statement from an
attendee with a question directed at
no one in particular… is it me he is
asking or someone else..
 Hiding your opinion in a question as
an independent
attendee, facilitator, meeting owner
of chairperson

12. The Magic Question is…
 The one which no one seems to want to
ask.
 The one that pulls the rabbit from the hat
 The so called stupid question..
 The one that unlocks a deadlock or..
 Flushes outs the elephant in the room
 The one that allows attendees to reveal
new connections