Effective Questioning Techniques

Introduction:

To all my fellow inquirers, who are seeking to improve their questioning skills, I would like to put up a question first. Do you not think sometimes, when you’re having trouble sleeping, that why do people put so much stress on asking questions when answers are what matter? If you have not thought of it before, no worries. We’ll explore the question for you, and even attempt an answer.

If you know how important questions are, do you still find yourself putting up the wrong questions? Are you looking for some techniques that will improve your questioning abilities? You have come to the right place. In this blog, you will learn the most effective questioning techniques that would help you wherever you are in your life.

Why Questions Matter?

The Austrian poet, Rainer Maria Rilke, in his ‘Letters to a Young Poet’ emphasized the importance of questions thus:

 “Do not now strive to uncover answers: they cannot be given to you because you have not been able to live with them. And what matters is to live everything. Live the questions for now. Perhaps then you will gradually, without noticing it, live your way into the answer, one distant day in the future.”

Reading these eloquent lines, you might still wonder, what does Rilke see in questions that we don’t? Before diving into the most effective questioning techniques, let us explore the importance of effective questioning:

• Facilitates Understanding:

There are times when two people are talking, but instead of talking to each other, they are talking past each other. Neither of them are able to understand the other, and yet they go on speaking. This chasm of understanding can be bridged through questions. If you ask the right questions, in the right manner, you will be better able to gauge what the other person is trying to say, and thus respond accordingly.

• Nurtures Learning and Growth:

In educational and professional settings, there is always room for growth. But growth is impossible where there is a fear of putting up questions. If you have recently joined a firm, but don’t know how to ask the right questions, you will never be able to effectively learn from the people already working there. This would greatly hamper your progress. Learning effective questioning techniques will prove to be a great boost to your new career.

• Resolves Misunderstandings:

If you find yourself in a situation where a misunderstanding has caused a rift between you and your colleague, then clarifying questions do a great job of smoothing things out. When we seek clarifications, we try to avoid any assumptions and make sure that we reach an understanding with the other party, thus fostering collaboration.

• Enhances Decision-making:

In scenarios where decision-making is tricky, effective questioning techniques immensely help in gathering relevant information. Thoughtful probing questions can help you better assess the situation and make an informed decision.

• Strengthens Leadership:

If you have to lead a team of diverse members, it is necessary to not let communication lines get clogged. By asking thought-provoking questions, leaders inspire creativity, innovation and collaboration, fostering an environment of trust and growth.

Now that we know the importance of questions, we will explore some of the most effective questioning techniques.

Also Read: Important Project Manager Interview Questions and Interview Behavioral Questions

Effective Questioning Techniques to Drive Results:

• Open-ended Questions:

There are questions which prompt a single word answer, say a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’, and there the thread of conversation breaks. These closed questions can be really effective if you just want to gather specific information, or assess understanding. But open-ended questions are much more than that. Putting up open questions allows the other person to elaborate on the answer, and lead it wherever it goes. These questions can be really helpful if you genuinely want to understand where the other person is coming from.

Examples of open-ended questions:

• What do you enjoy most about your favorite hobby?
• How have your past experiences shaped your personal life?
• How do you envision the future of AI in the field of art?

• Probing Questions:

While in a conversation, if you want to know more about the thing your co-worker is alluding to, you ask probing questions. They are an essential element in the ‘effective questioning techniques’ toolkit. These questions go beyond the surface and prompt people to provide more information, reasons or explanations about their thoughts and perspectives. They lead to better understanding if asked the right way. Also, always be thoughtful about the person you’re putting these questions to and make sure that you are not stepping on their toes.

Examples of probing questions:

• Can you elaborate on the point you just made?
• How did you feel when that happened?
• What challenges did you encounter along the way?

• Leading Questions:

Leading questions are questions that try to influence the answer in a particular direction. They are generally used in situations when you are trying to persuade or influence the decision of another person. They are very useful for people working in the sales department. Use leading questions only when they are necessary. They can be a great addition to your ‘effective questioning techniques’ toolkit.

Examples of leading questions:

• Wouldn’t you agree that this product is superior to anything of this kind in the market?
• You must agree that these are the most effective questioning techniques, right?
• Haven’t you always found our customer service to be exceptional?

• Clarifying Questions:

Clarifying questions are asked to seek further explanation about something that may be unclear or ambiguous. Suppose you find yourself in a presentation given by your manager and are unsure of what the manager was trying to say on a certain topic. By the end of the presentation, you can ask a clarifying question, something like ‘I am not sure if I followed that part, can you please repeat it once more?’ Clarifying questions aim to remove any confusion and verify understanding.

Examples of clarifying questions:

• I am not entirely clear on your stance, can you please clarify your position?
• I am a bit confused, can you explain it once more?
• Can you give me some examples of the phenomena you’re describing?

• Rhetorical Questions:

These questions are not meant to be answered. They are used for persuasive purposes rather than for genuine inquiry. Rhetorical questions are often employed by executives to engage the audience they are interacting with, and to prompt them to think more deeply about the topic. The answer to these questions is usually implied or quite obvious. Make sure to include them in your ‘effective questioning techniques’ toolkit.

Examples of rhetorical questions:

• Who could resist such a tempting offer?
• Is this what we want for the future of this company?
• Why should we settle for anything other than excellence?

Also Read: 10 Types of Listening Skills: Tips and Importance of Listening

Tips for Asking Effective Questions:

Now that you know some of the most effective questioning techniques, we will take a look at some great tips that will help you to ask the kinds of questions in the workplace:

• Be an active listener:

Listening is hard. You might say that you have been doing it your whole life, how can it be hard then? To that, the only valid response is that you have been doing it wrong. It’s easy to pretend to listen, while all the time thinking about what to say next. Actual listening demands receptivity. When you ask a question, wait and listen properly to the answer that is given and the tone in which it is given. Respond accordingly, either with a follow-up question or with a thoughtful comment on the answer.

• Allow pauses and silence:

Don’t get uncomfortable at pauses, and don’t hurry yourself up to speak just because you can’t withstand silence. If you respect pauses and cultivate a habit of embracing silence, the people around you in the workplace would feel more relaxed while conversing with you. You can also use silence to put up thoughtful questions to people you are addressing.

• Be respectful and empathetic:

In order to properly use the ‘effective questioning techniques’ toolkit, this tip is crucial. Always be respectful of the person’s boundaries, and approach personal or sensitive topics with great care and consideration. Don’t ask questions that are bound to make the person uncomfortable.  

Learn With DT Evolve:

Do you find yourself at a loss when engaged in conversations with your peers or the upper management? Apart from learning effective questioning techniques, do you also want to learn the nuts and bolts of communication? DT Evolve has a course for you. By learning communication fundamentals, you can become a more effective communicator and learn to get your message across. Here’s the link to the course: The Magic of Communication.

Conclusion:

In this blog, we explored the most effective questioning techniques, to help you in your career and in life. We started by discussing the importance of questioning, both in a professional setting and also in casual conversations. We then moved to discuss the techniques, exploring how different types of questions could be effective in various situations. Finally, we talked about some tips that might be useful in putting the ‘effective questioning techniques’ in use. If you follow all the techniques outlined in this blog, your questions are sure to hit the target every single time.