{"id":1020,"date":"2020-10-16T09:36:13","date_gmt":"2020-10-16T09:36:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.twentytwo.digital\/ukbodytalk\/effective-questioning\/"},"modified":"2025-07-14T16:57:00","modified_gmt":"2025-07-14T15:57:00","slug":"effective-questioning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.twentytwo.digital\/ukbodytalk\/resources\/blogs\/effective-questioning\/","title":{"rendered":"Enhance your communication skills through effective questioning"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cJudge the response you receive by the quality of the question\u00a0you ask.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
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Enhance your communication skills through effective questioning<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

\u201cJudge the response you receive by the quality of the question\u00a0you ask.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We often think questioning is a natural ability we\u00a0acquire as we\u00a0grow.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In truth,\u00a0it\u00a0isn\u2019t.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Effective questioning is an art form.<\/a><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a beautiful ballet through a real-life board game of snakes and ladders.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Without time spent studying this ballet, we might occasionally hit upon a question that sends us racing up a ladder only for the next one to land us two rows down, battered, bruised and our confidence knocked.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Luckily for us,\u00a0we can learn some simple strategies to help increase our advancement up the ladders\u00a0and\u00a0avoid the\u00a0pitfalls.<\/span><\/p>\n

It all starts with a deeper understanding of the different types of questions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

OPEN AND CLOSED<\/h3>\n

Let\u2019s\u00a0take the most commonly known\u00a0of these:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018Open\u2019 and \u2018Closed\u2019<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Standard\u00a0\u2018Open\u2019\u00a0questions\u00a0start with:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Who, What, When, Where, How and\u00a0Why.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

These are a great way to\u00a0\u2018open \u2019up\u00a0a conversation, gain information and build rapport\u2026 all except one \u2013 \u2018Why\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018Why\u2019, when used in a conversation without rapport, trust, and context, can result in sounding like an accusation and often results in a defensive answer or\u00a0\u2018closes\u2019 down\u00a0the conversation.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This is the reason the\u00a0age-old\u00a0<\/span>interrogative<\/span>\u202f<\/span>\u201c5 Whys\u201d\u00a0for\u00a0root cause analysis<\/a> can result in a demotivated meeting rather than a\u00a0positive\u00a0discovery.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So,\u00a0let\u2019s\u00a0leave the \u2018whys\u2019\u00a0out for now.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

T.E.D<\/h3>\n

Another class of \u2018open\u2019 questions are known as T.E.D questions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

T<\/b>ell me\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

E<\/b>xplain to me\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

D<\/b>escribe to me\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

T.E.D questions allow for the recipient to give a deeper and more thoughtful response.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s your reason for applying for this job\u201d\u00a0might move you up\u00a0one\u00a0ladder\u00a0in terms of knowledge gathering and rapport building,\u00a0whereas\u00a0\u201cExplain to me why you\u2019d like to work here\u201d could move you up\u00a0three.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

CLOSED QUESTIONS<\/h3>\n

Finally,\u00a0\u2018Closed\u2019\u00a0questions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Closed questions tend to result in a \u201cyes\u201d or \u201cno\u201d answer,\u00a0examples being:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Is it\u2026?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Can you\u2026?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Does it\u2026?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Could you\u2026?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Have you\u2026?\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There can be a worry that using closed questions is wrong. It isn\u2019t<\/span>\u00a0<\/b>IF<\/span>\u00a0<\/b>you\u2019re using them in the correct place.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For instance, if we use closed questions to create a conversation, it will sound and feel more like an interrogation to the recipient so you\u2019re more than likely to find yourself at the bottom of a snake rather than climbing a ladder.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, closed questions can\u00a0be more useful if working to\u00a0<\/span>confirm clarity.\u00a0<\/b>Recapping what you\u2019ve heard and then using a closed question such as \u201cIs that correct?\u201d is the perfect way to clarify you\u2019re both listening and on the same page before moving on.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So, if you find engaging people in conversation tricky, take some time and reflect on your technique – it could be you\u2019re unconsciously using \u2018closed\u2019 questions where \u2018open\u2019 would be more effective.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Rule of thumb –\u00a0aim to spend 80% of\u00a0your\u00a0time using\u00a0\u2018Open\u2019 or \u2018TED\u2019\u00a0questions and 20%\u00a0clarifying using \u2018closed\u2019.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As always,\u00a0awareness is key here.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Challenge yourself today to note which questions you are using, where and what responses they generate.<\/span><\/p>\n

To learn more about how we can help with your personal or business communication skills, please contact our team<\/b><\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Discover the art of effective questioning and how it can help to enhance your communication and presentation skills and build rapport.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":1021,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1020","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blogs"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nUsing Effective Questioning to Enhance Communication Skills | Body Talk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Discover the art of effective questioning and how it can help to enhance your communication skills and build trust and rapport.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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