Questioning Styles

Questioning Styles used can be categorised as follows:

Open – these questions encourage conversation and usually begin with who, what, when, why, where and how.

Closed – these questions only require a yes or no answer. They should be used with care as they    can shut down conversation.

Probing – these questions are used to establish details and explore the topic of conversation. Again, use with care as the recipient of these questions could feel they are being interrogated!

Clarifying – these are used to determine facts, often require only a one-word, factual response.

Reflective – these questions reflect back the information already obtained to check understanding.

Leading – this type of question is sometimes used to influence the response one way or another.

The type of questions you choose will depend on the purpose and nature of your communication. Establishing customer requirements may initially require broad open questions, however getting the detail will require closed, clarifying questions. Obtaining quantitative feedback is often easier using closed questions, where either a yes/no answer is required or a scale for response is given and can be measured against other responses.