A facilitator’s role is to get the best out of people in workshops. One of the best ways to do this is through powerful questioning. Broadly speaking there are four styles of questions you could use. The skill is asking the right question at the right time to move the discussion forward.
1 Open Questions
This is the most common and in many ways the safest set of questions. Use them at the beginning of workshops and discussions to get initial thoughts, ideas and problems aired. Adopt an open and naive mindset. Keep them short and sharp. For example,
‘can you tell me about your business?’
‘what are the challenges you’re facing?’
‘what’s been most successful for you over the past year?’
Plan the most appropriate open questions and draw upon them at the right time. Keep the questions relevant to the topic whilst providing lots of space for people to open up.
2 Probing Questions
This is where you start to go deeper once you’ve got a general understanding of the topic and people are nicely warmed up. There is a range of approaches you can take.
Firstly, pick up on what’s been said previously and seek further detail. For example:
‘what do you feel are the root causes of the issue?’
‘What did that lead to?’
‘how did that make you feel?’
What’s particularly powerful is when you playback precisely what you’ve heard. It demonstrates that you’re fully engaged and have really listened. For example,
‘You said the biggest impact was on the culture. What do you mean by that?’
‘I’m struck by the phrase, challenging conventions. What conventions were you challenging?’
‘What was it that you found shocking?’
Sometimes you don’t even need a question. Prompt further discussion by phrases such as,
‘that’s interesting…’
‘ok…so…’
‘and then…’
Expressing emotions such as empathy, shock, or admiration and leaving a space to continue, also encourages deeper disclosure.
‘that must have been difficult …’
‘wow, that’s amazing…’
‘impressive results!’
The key is to stay focused and keep listening to what’s being said. Then make sure you stay on the same conversational track. Don’t jump around or move topics until you’ve got as deep as possible.
3 Clarification Questions
Sometimes the conversation gets confused. If you’re lost, then the chances are that others are lost too. Make sure you’re the one who brings clarity to the situation. Pre-empt your question with a summary.
‘Just so I’m clear (then summarise). Would you agree? Is that fair?’
Or simply call out your confusion.
‘Sorry, I’m not sure I understand, can you please explain what means?’
If jargon or acronyms are used that you don’t understand again, call it out
Asking clarification questions is not a sign of weakness. It helps you and the rest of the team move forward.
4 Challenging Questions
Use this type of question sparingly. Sometimes, you or the problem owner feel that the answers or ideas that are being produced aren’t solving the task you set yourself. Or indeed, you want to test the quality of the thinking. In that case, ask tougher, more challenging questions. Remember, focus on the idea/topic, not on criticising the individual. For example
‘how can we improve on this idea?’
‘how can we make it more distinctive?’
‘what’s missing?’
‘what else could we do?’
In summary
Throughout a workshop, keep questioning to maintain forward momentum. Don’t interrupt a really good discussion, but equally, don’t be a passive presence. Always think - what’s the right kind of question before you ask, then phrase it appropriately. Sometimes you’ll get it wrong, but that’s ok. Correct yourself, then ask for a follow-up to get you back on track. Through intuition and judgement, aligned with lots of practice, you’ll help others get the answers they need.