“What happened after I left?” “Why did Jim leave before Susan?” “What did you do at work today?” “What do you think about the new season of this TV show?”
“Who will you choose?” “What brand of car do you own?” “Did you speak to Bob?” “Did Susan leave with Jim?” “Who finished the cake?” Closed-ended questions bring conversations to a halt. They do not invite or encourage people to elaborate, talk about themselves, or give the questioner any detailed information.
They require a person to pause, think, and reflect. Answers, typically, will not be facts, but personal feelings, opinions, or ideas about a subject. When using open-ended questions, the control of the conversation switches over to the person being asked the question, which begins an exchange between people. If the control of the conversation stays with the person asking questions, you are asking closed-ended questions. This technique makes it feel more like an interview or interrogation than a conversation. [2] X Research source Avoid questions that have the following characteristics: answers that provide facts easy to answer questions answers that can be given quickly and require little to no thought. [3] X Research source Questions that reflect these things are closed-ended.
Open-ended questions or statements begin with the following words: why, how, what, describe, explain, tell me about. . . , or what do you think about. . . Although “tell me about” or “describe” does not begin a question, the result is the same as asking an open-ended question. Closed-ended questions also have a specific language. If you want to avoid closed-ended questions, do not start questions with the following verbs: are/was, did/do, will, won’t, didn’t, aren’t, would, if.
Do not use closed-ended questions when you want meaningful answers. These questions can bring a conversation to a screeching halt. One word answers can make it difficult to build any kind of conversation or relationship. Closed-ended questions typically provide inadequate answers as well. Ask open-ended questions when you want detailed explanations to build off of. Use open-ended questions to expand the conversation after asking a closed-ended question, to gather a fact or one word answer. Take the fact or one word answer, and build an entire conversation of open-ended questions around it. [4] X Research source
If you are trying to set a friend up on a date, you might ask them, “What are you looking for in a person?” They might answer with physical characteristics, when you wanted them to talk about personality. Instead, ask a more specific question with parameters: “What personality traits are you looking for in a person?”
If you are struggling to get the person to open up with broad open-ended questions, try narrowing the questions first and then make them broader after getting them into the conversation. [7] X Research source An example of this would be when talking to your kids. You might ask a question like “What happened at school today?” “Nothing” is the response. Follow-up with something like, “What writing assignments are you working on?” More than likely, this will spark a conversation.
Ask “why” and “how” to follow up and gain a lengthier answer after asking a closed-ended question. When someone has finished talking, ask them an open-ended question that refers to what they just said, or is related to what they just said. This keeps the conversation flowing in an open and engaging way.
Ask these questions to find out more about a person. Many times, open-ended questions encourage people to talk about themselves. By asking follow up questions, you can continue discovering things about the person. These questions can demonstrate care, compassion, or concern for someone else. Open-ended questions require more involved, personal answers. By asking “How are you feeling” or “Why are you crying?”, you invite a person to share their feelings with you. Asking “are you okay?” allows someone to answer with a simple “yes” or “no. " Ask open-ended questions to generate conversation with quiet, nervous, or new people. [8] X Research source It can help them feel at ease and encourage them to open up. Use open-ended questions to avoid pressuring, hinting at, or influencing a person’s response. Most open-ended questions are neutral questions. The way that closed-ended questions are worded can cause a person to feel pressured to answer a certain way. [9] X Research source For example, a leading question might be, “Don’t you think the dress is cute?”, while a neutral open-ended question would be, “How do you like the dress?” Tags such as “isn’t it?”, “don’t you?” or “can’t they?” can turn questions into leading questions, suggesting that the person you are talking to should agree with you. Do not use them with open-ended questions. Be careful not to ask people questions that are too personal or require too much personal information. Gauge the questionee’s comfort level when asking questions. If you ask a question that you feel is too personal, just move on to another, less personal question.
Open-ended questions engage language skills in a sophisticated way. You can use open-ended questions with children and new language learners to help them stimulate their thinking and improve their language abilities.
Probing for clarity. If you ask an open-ended question that results in a general answer, ask another open-ended question for clarity. For example, if you ask someone “Why do you like living here” and she responds, “because of the scenery,” you can ask her an additional question for clarity, such as, “What is it that you like about the scenery?” Probing for completeness. Once a complete, clear answer has been given to an open-ended question, you can ask more questions to get additional information. Examples of questions that probe for clarity are “What else do you like?” or “What other reason did you have?"[10] X Research source Do not use “Is there anything else?” This is a closed-ended question, and can result in a simple “no” answer.
Some open-ended questions require predictions. Questions like, “Who will win the election” or “What effect would this candidate’s election have on our state?” require people to come up with possible scenarios. These questions also sometimes make people consider consequences. By asking someone, “What would happen if. . . " or “what would happen if you. . . “, you are inviting them to think about the cause and effects of a given scenario.
