QUESTIONING Skills

        A wise person doesn’t always give the right answers, they pose the right questions.  Without the right question, you will never get the right answer.

        The ability to question and to listen carefully to the answers are essential skills for a successful career.

        Don’t be frightened to ask questions. They are easier to handle than mistakes.

A handful of tips to help you get the essential information

* Establish a rapport at the start of an interview

        Start with a comfortable question. Put the person at ease first.

        Chat and begin by asking questions that are simple and easy to answer.

* Ask open-ended questions 

        Open-ended questions need a longer reply and aim to get people chatting. “What did you like best about our meeting last week?” A closed question will get you only a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ response. “Did you attend our meeting last week?”

* Keep your questions simple

        Professional interviewers use simple questions  such as ‘what’, ‘why’, ‘when’, ‘where’, how’, ‘who’ and ‘how much’.

        The most important question is ‘why‘.

* Try some ‘suppose’, ‘probe’ and ‘agreement’ questions

        “If you were in charge; What things would you change?”

        “You said you were not happy with your working conditions. Why is that?”

        “Why did you say that?”

        “That sounds a good idea. So you think we could do things better. Tell us how.”

        “How would you like a job in another department? Would that suit you?”

* Pause after asking your question

        By keeping quiet you put the onus to respond to the other person.  

        Never answer your own question.

        From time to time summarise and repeat the answer given.

        Give your interpretation of the answer given. This allows the other person a chance to amplify, to explain why they said what they said and to make any alterations.

        Avoid evaluating answers but express your gratitude for the response to your question.

        The important thing is never to stop questioning – they are easier to handle than mistakes.

-Geoffrey Moss (mossassociates.co.nz)

“You will never progress to the top job until you have learned to ask hard questions.”

Source: “Persuasive Ways. ‘Tricks of the trade’ to get your ideas across”. First published by  Moss Associates Ltd., New Zealand and in Chinese by the Shanghai People’s Publishing House, the Singapore Institute of Management, Kogan Page Ltd, U.K and Hungarian by Bagolyvar Konyvkiado.  Also published as the “Secrets of Persuasion” by Cengage Learning Asia and as an e-book and sold by Amazon.com.