The benefits of developing questioning skills are two-fold in the communication process. Firstly, they assist you in receiving the messages the other person is sending accurately and secondly, they allow you to check that your message has been accurately received.

TYPES OF EFFECTIVE QUESTIONS

1. Open Questions

Cannot be answered with ‘yes’ or ‘no’
Begin with: How? What? When? Where? Why?

Used to:

2. Clarifying Questions

Request more information
Contain phrases like: could you elaborate? can you give me an example?

Used to:

  • get more specific information about a subject
  • build common understanding
  • allow the other person to elaborate
  • show the other person you have been listening to them

3. Direct questions

Answered with a one or two word reply
Contain phrases like: how many? what time? how far?

Used to:

4. Closed questions

Answered with a ‘yes’ or ‘no’
Contain phrases like: is that right ? did you? do you agree?

Used to:

Where do dreams start?
Where do they end?
Where do send your heart,
when it needs to mend?

What are dreams made of?
Where do dreams go?
What becomes of love,
when it fails to grow?

What becomes of dreams that are no more?
How do you know when a dream is not r eal?
When searching for a dream becomes a chore,
if found, is far from ideal.

What do you go to begin anew,
to find a dream that is always true?

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