COGNITIVE

BEHAVIOURAL
THERAPY

PRACTITIONER
CERTIFICATION

THE CORE
QUESTIONING
WORKBOOK
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'Garbage in, garbage out,' is a popular truth, which is often used when talking
about computer systems: If we put the wrong information in, we'll get the
wrong information out.

The same idea applies to the way we communicate: If we ask poor questions,
we'll more than likely get poor answers, or at least not the answers we were
hoping for.

Asking good questions is crucial to effective communications and information

exchange and can improve a range of communications skills. For example,
through good questioning we can learn more and receive better information, we
can build stronger and more meaningful relationships, coach people more
effectively, and help other people to learn too.

Open Questions

Open questions begin with 'what, why, how, describe, explain, where, which,
when' etc. They generally ask for elaborate or explanatory answers. It may be a
question that asks someone to explain what happened in a specific situation or
place, asking why it happened, requesting further details, or even asking for
ideas and feedback. Open questions help with a two-way conversation and
build up an interest in the conversation. For example:

- What happened at the college today?

- Could you please describe your current financial circumstances?
- What do you think about the decision that's been made?
- Who was present at this incident?
- How did you reach this conclusion?

Closed Questions

Closed Questions typically have very short answers like 'yes' or 'no' or answers
with only one or two words. They are usually asked to test if an individual has
understood what's been said, explanations, discussions, guidelines etc.
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Closed questions might also be asked for agreements or disagreements or to

be specific, for affirmation, etc. It's best not to ask closed questions when a
conversation is flowing smoothly as it can quickly bring an end to the
conversation and you may risk losing required information. Some of the words
used in closed questions include: are, do, did, could, should, etc. For example:

- Will I get a response before tomorrow?

- Do we agree with this decision?
- Are you happy with the equipment provided?
- Where are you from originally?
- What is it that you do for a living?

Probing Questions

Probing questions can be used to gather further information or details. These

are typically asked to clarify any doubts or misunderstandings. Probing
questions will help you to pull out information from people who are withholding
information or avoiding telling you something. For example:

- What exactly is the problem?

- Who exactly wants me to provide these details?
- When do you need this information by?
- How do you know that they were involved?
- What exactly is this information needed for?
- Where exactly will you be using it?
- What types of products do you need?
- Can you be more specific?

Clarifying Questions

Clarifying questions are used to check or verify information. Once the

conversation is over, you finalise things to confirm if you've understood
correctly. For example:
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- So just to confirm, you have completed the exercise I gave you last week?
- So let me just double check - what your saying is the delivery will be made
any time between 3 pm and 5 pm on Tuesday. Is that correct?
- Am I right in thinking that everyone understands that tomorrow is the last day
you'll have access to this room?

Chunking Up Questions 

We covered Chunking Up/Chunking Down earlier in this section but here's a

quick re-cap. Chunking up questions allow us to get a better understanding of
the big picture, the whole context of a person's problem, decision or goal. They
can be used to identify people's values and better understand why people
behave and act in certain ways. For example:

- What is that a part of?

- What is that an example of?
- What purpose does that have?

Chunking Down Questions 

Chunking down questions can be used to get more specific, for example, to get
to the root of someone's problem, to fill in any missing information or to
identify specific goals that they would like to set

- What is an example of that?

- What is a component of that?
- Who/where/what specifically?
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You will most likely have used all of these questioning techniques before as
part of your everyday life. However, consciously applying the appropriate
type of questioning, will help you gain the information or response that
you're looking for even more effectively.

Questions are a powerful way of:

Learning: By asking open, closed and probing questions you can get the new
information you're looking for

Relationship building: People will generally respond positively if they are asked
about themselves. If you do this in an affirmative way, for example, 'tell me what
you like best about living here', you'll help to build and maintain an open
dialogue.

Managing and coaching: Rhetorical and leading questions can be particularly

useful in this type of role. They can be useful in encouraging people to reflect
and to commit to a course of action that's been suggested. For example,
'wouldn't it be great to gain some further qualifications?'

Avoiding misunderstandings: You can use probing questions to seek

clarification and to make sure you avoid jumping to conclusions, especially
when the consequences are significant.

Persuading people: Nobody likes being lectured, but asking a series of open
questions will help others to embrace the reasons behind your viewpoint. For
example, 'what do you think about delivering training in this area to increase
staff confidence levels?"
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More Tips:

- Ensure you give the person that you are questioning enough time to respond
(include thinking time before they give you an answer - so don't just interpret a
pause as a 'no comment').

- Skillful questioning must be matched with careful listening so that you

understand what people really mean when they respond.

- Body language and tone of voice also plays a big role in the answers you get
when you ask questions.