If
you want people to take action, you must refrain
from giving the answers.
Several
factors need to be considered in forming a question
and making it effective in terms of what you
are trying to accomplish:
Wording
of the Question
Subject
Matter or Focus of the Question
Facilitators
need to think carefully about the content focus
of their questions. Is the group stuck because it
needs more information? Are they having problems
organizing their thoughts? Are emotions getting
in the way? Are they trying to act before everyone
is on board? The following identifies four different
areas about which to ask questions:
Is it a knowledge question
seeking facts, clarifying concepts, asking for
a generalization about a topic?
Is it a process question
asking people to predict what will happen, compare
and contrast two situations, synthesize ideas,
or choose a solution?
Is it an affective question
asking people for their opinions, feelings, attitudes
or beliefs?
Is it a behavior question
asking how participants can apply new knowledge,
what will they do differently now than before,
or how they can solve a problem?
Open-ended
or Closed-ended Questions
While
facilitators use both open- and closed-ended questions,
they know that the open-ended questions result in
answers with greater diversity and richness.
Convergent or closed-ended questions usually
elicit a limited number of responses or "right
answers" (e.g., What is a convergent question?).
Divergent or open-ended questions elicit multiple
answers (e.g., What questions should I ask the
class about wetlands?).
How a question
is phrased can unintentionally put people off. Questions
can make us feel put on the spot, intimidated and
non-empowered. They focus attention on the reasons
we are not achieving or cannot achieve our objectives.
Click here to see examples
of ineffective and effective questions. A simple
rewording can elicit the same information without
the emotional overtones.
General
Effective Questions You Can Us
Will you tell
me more?
How would
that work here?
What results
do you want?
What can we
expect?
What would
be the advantages/benefits of that approach?
What options
do you have for getting past that obstacle?
How can you
do that even better?
What will
it ideally look like when it's complete?
What's your
reaction?
What are you
looking forward to most in completing that task?
What has worked
most effectively in similar situations?
What was particularly
effective about the way that worked?
How would
you do it differently another time?
What would
be the benefit of doing it differently?
What two or
three things about that are you most pleased with?
In what way
could I be most helpful to you right now?
Would you
like my feedback?
Types
of Questions
There are
many different types of questions based on their
purpose. Using the right type of question keeps
you on target, assures you are meeting the other
person's needs and helps clarify situations. The
following provides a few examples of questions to
consider as a facilitator:
Factual--questions help you
get additional facts and prompt an answer to the
five W's: who, what, when, where, and why.
Explanatory--questions help
to find reasons and explanations.
Justifying--questions are
used to challenge old ideas and develop new ones.
Leading--questions are used
to advance a suggestion of your own or those of
others. They also prompt a conclusion and move
a discussion toward closure.
Hypothetical--questions introduce
another suggestion or change the course of the
discussion.
Alternative--questions encourage
a decision. They also help the individual take
control of an event or problem by forcing one
of two options.
Coordinating--questions help
a group reach consensus. They encourage a summary
and wrap-up.
You don't need to know all the answers.
Just
ask the right questions.
Delivering
the Questions
Ask
a question. Get an answer. Sounds simple enough, but
it is not. There are, again, several things to think
about as you ask questions.
Ask One Question at a Time
Too often,
if we do not see hands shoot right up after asking
a question, we start to ask more questions, trying
to clarify but usually only confusing people more.
If they do not understand your question, say, "Let
me rephrase that" and then re-ask the question.
Use
Wait Time I and Wait Time II
The average leader
waits 0.5 to 1.2 seconds before calling on someone to
answer. Wait time refers to the amount of time you allow
between the question and a person's response--the opportunity
to think about the question and to formulate a response.
Some people need time to process how they feel about something,
to organize their thoughts, to decide to take a risk.
Wait Time I refers to the time a facilitator
pauses between the asking of the question and the answering.
Waiting 3-5 seconds (which feels like a very long time
if you are the facilitator), greatly increases the length
of response, the quality of the reponse and the number
of people who respond or respond to each other. Wait
Time II refers to the amount of time the facilitator
and others wait for the person to elaborate upon an answer.
If others try to jump in with their ideas before the first
person can finish, the facilitator should hold up a hand
to indicate to wait while keeping focus on the person
responding.
[1]
Adapted with permission from Soil and Water Conservation
District Outreach: A Handbook for Program Development, Implementation
and Evaluation . Ohio Department of Natural Resources,
Division of Soil and Water Conservation, 2003.
Best
Education 
What are BEPs?
Use
Wait Time I and Wait Time II