Open-ended questions: are only coaches asking them lately?
IEC Blog Post, 22 May, 2009
Are human beings genetically programmed to ask more closed than open-ended questions? And if so, why? Perhaps it’s a self-protective mechanism? Especially if you are someone who is (or feels) “time-poor”, asking an open ended question can feel dangerous. What if your question invites information you simply don’t have time to listen, let alone respond, to? This can make for frustratingly brief and impersonal contact among colleagues and even friends and family.
By asking others open-ended questions are we opening ourselves up to more than we bargained for? For example;
- “Did you have a good weekend?” (a closed question – not too dangerous)
- “So how was your weekend?” (semi closed…potential danger)*
- “Tell me about your weekend.” (a command and an open ended invitation to the other to speak for as long as they like – eeek!)
- “What did you get up to on the weekend?” (entirely open ended and inviting – only for the brave, or the coach)
A recent trend observed by Institute Master Coach, Chip McFarlane, is that of managers and leaders devolving into asking more closed ended questions. They use the “pressures” of the Global Financial Crisis as an excuse to revert back to a command and control style of management. Chip says “I’m hearing it as an excuse for ‘why I need to be this way right now’ and I’m hearing it from both ends…the leaders are both apologetic and pragmatic - ‘that's the way things are now’. But on the receiving end this kind of questioning is not landing well, and will provide an excuse later on, when the financial environment is stronger, to leave that company.”
So, who has time to ask open ended questions “these days”? The beauty of being a coach is that you set aside an hour at a time specifically to ask those open-ended questions, and you have time to hear the answer. The beauty of having a coach is that your coach has set aside that hour purely to ask you pertinent and challenging open-ended questions and has time to listen to your answers. Ongoing research amongst executives receiving coaching from the Institute (link to How Coaching Works on homepage) asked how coaching as an activity actually produced benefits;
- 92% said coaching is a “safe place to talk about problems and issues”
- 88% said coaching is a “place” in which “someone listened and asked questions that got them thinking differently”
- 84% said coaching is a “sounding board for testing and expressing new ideas”, and “being challenged about assumptions”,
- 80% said coaching is a place where “someone really listened and understood my situation”. (Armstrong 2007)
While a good coach uses mainly open ended questions, there are both pros and cons for closed and open ended questions.
Closed-ended Questions
A closed question can be answered with either a short phrase or a single word (which often turns out to be “yes” or “no”).
Pros:
- They are quick and easy to ask and answer.
- They give you facts (and “just the facts, ma’am”).
- Control of the conversation stays with the questioner.
Cons:
- Closed questions elicit incomplete responses (no depth).
- Can be perceived as a leading question.
- May sound irritating or even threatening.
- Can provide information that is misleading or contains incorrect assumptions.
Open-ended Questions
An open question is likely to receive a long answer (warning bells now ringing for busy individuals!)
Pros:
- Open questions deliberately elicit more in-depth and thoughtful answers.
- They ask (and allow) the respondent to reflect before answering.
- They will give you more than facts - opinions and feelings for example.
- Control of the conversation moves to the respondent (an outcome which a good coach will celebrate!)
- Open questions are perceived as less threatening and more interested.
- They allow for an unrestrained response (quite the opposite of the time-constrained “yes or no” closed question).
Cons:
- Open questions will elicit longer answers so can be time-consuming (not a problem if you are a coach).
- May result in unnecessary information (all information may be relevant to the coach).
- May require more effort on the part of the questioner, to understand what is being said (and if you are a coach, that’s your job!)
A basic skill of a good coach is their ability to ask questions. At the Institute we train our coaches to ask almost all open ended questions, incorporating a range of questioning skills that make the coach more effective at getting to the heart of the matter (and thereby assisting the client to reach their goals). A great coach does 20% of the talking, at most, and uses great hypothetical and "wild card" questions to keep a session vibrant and active.
Next Monday you might want to think twice before you ask your colleagues “Did you have a good weekend?”
References:
Armstrong, A 2007, Hestia and Coaching; speaking to the ‘hearth’ of the matter, Published in The International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring, Special Issue Summer 2007 and accessed online on May 21, 2009 at http://www.brookes.ac.uk/schools/education/ijebcm/specialissue-armstrong.html
Ideas on open and closed questions from IEC Level One materials, and 2002 research by Dr. John V. Richardson Jr., UCLA Professor of Information Studies, accessed online on May 21, 2009 at http://polaris.gseis.ucla.edu/jrichardson/dis220/openclosed.htm and Changing Minds, accessed online on May 21, 2009 at http://changingminds.org/techniques/questioning/open_closed_questions.htm
