Lesson 2: Asking Questions
CollegED July 28, 2025
Asking Questions
We spend a lot of our lives asking and answering questions, but we aren’t always aware of how we ask questions. Open questions in particular often give us difficulty, which is unfortunate, since they are the most important ones for us to become skilled at using.
Closed questions can be answered with a single word or two, or a simple yes or no. They can begin the closing process in a conversation, or provide confirmation of a detail, but they don’t usually lead to gathering more information. Where most people need more practice is asking the open question, those where the listener is given a chance to explain, to tell how they feel about an issue, or offer suggestions.
Open questions give us more information because:
- They encourage other people to talk
- We get opinions and ideas from others
- They can help us determine if people have interpreted what we say correctly
- They can help us arrive at consensus much more readily
Good open questions include:
- “What is your opinion?”
- “How do you think we should solve the problem?”
- “What would you do in my shoes?”
- “Tell me more about…”
Note: Be very careful about “why” questions. All too often these questions sound like accusations, and the listener immediately becomes defensive.
It is easier to build relationships with potential customers if we become skilled at asking questions that give us more information about that person and their wants and needs. The questions help us find common ground with someone, show the person we are interested in them, and we put the emphasis on them rather than on ourselves.
Good customer-focused questions can include:
- What do you think we can do about this?
- What would you like me to stop doing?
- Would it be helpful if I…?
- Supposing we were to…?
- Help me understand where you’re coming from?
- Can we set a time to talk about the changes we’re prepared to make?
- I’m prepared to… Would that ease the situation?
