Objectives:
- To explore communication and how to listen effectively
- To understand the importance of recognising the different methods of questioning that can affect our ability to build rapport and gather information in both management situations or when Mentoring, counselling or in our everyday life of building relationships
Overview:
This session is a short interactive group activity which can be delivered in an informal environment with all participants sitting in a relaxed state, but exploring a challenge with a time pressure. It will give the participants the opportunity to develop their questioning techniques in a fun and safe environment.
Activity:
This activity takes no more than ten minutes to deliver and requires that you, as the tutor, hold back and allow the questioning to deepen and allow for “pauses” and quiet.
Firstly, you need to set the scene, by explaining to group that they are looking at questioning skills and the group need to identify what it is you are doing, which you will only do by providing 1 statement that guides them and then only by answering the questions they ask.
You might start with:
“I am outside a hotel....i am pushing a car and I have no money”. (I am actually playing monopoly the group need to establish this through their questioning)
Leave it open for people ask questions you must be truthful with your replies but keep your answers short, tight and only in answer to the specific question asked.
The majority of the time people will ask closed questions will which only glean a "yes" or "no" response and not a lot of information ie Are you? Did you? Is the? Clearly these type of questions (which only elicit yes/no answers) will not serve them well and they will need to develop more opening questions relating to: Why, Where, What, Who, When ... Open questioning will produce a more honest reply and therefore resolve the puzzle sooner.
ie: "Why are you pushing the car?" reply "It has no engine"
"Why does it have no engine?" "Because it is a toy car." This would then open up their questioning and thinking.
It is key at this point that you don't lead them if they find themselves at a "dead end" or taking the wrong approach, as the process is the key experience. This can take a bit of time to resolve but it is fun though powerful and results in people being aware of how to develop their questioning skills these skills can help in management, development , communication including mentoring or volunteering.
If you are working with larger groups, you may wish to place them in teams and appoint a spokesperson who can ask the question which the team collectively agree upon. This can deepen this task as it requires good communication within the team as well. This also allows you to be particularly harsh, if their spokesperson asks "can I ask a question....?" to reply that they just have and move onto the next team without providing further information.
In addition, you can consider a range of "oblique" situations within their field, subject or industry sector which will also test their knowledge and understanding as well build their listening skills. This could relate to an experiment or practical aspect of their subject and they need to identify when and where it is taking place (scenario; situation; addressing need).
Skill Development:
The key to deepening the learning is within the review and group discussion at the end.
Collectively you can discuss the process and their experience of this – exploring emotions of frustration, confusion etc and acknowledging this as part of the process. Within a group discussion you can explore how/if the questioning changed in order to get the right information, by discussing the following topics:
- Understand the importance of how to question
- How and when to use open questions
- How and when to use closed questions
- What questions to use and when would you use them?
- What questions to avoid (leading, multiple etc)
Using flip chart or board you can work through the process by asking how they identified these components, finally focusing upon how to deepen their understanding of what makes effective questioning and listening.
- Who?
- Where?
- When?
- What?
- Why?
- Also How?
Resources:
Flip chart /board for capturing review/discussion points - optional