EFFECTIVE QUESTIONING TECHNIQUES

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Effective Questioning Techniques
• Exercise 1
• Exercise 2
• Five W's And The How
• Application Of Questioning Techniques To The Scenario
• Cautions When Questioning

EFFECTIVE QUESTIONING TECHNIQUES

For effectively determining what the problem is, your best tools are active listening and questioning. The following sections will provide you with an explanation of several techniques to use to question and to demonstrate active listening. Let's first look at questioning techniques with exercises to practice them.

Questioning

Why question?

• To begin or continue discussion
• To pinpoint and/or clarify issues to gather pertinent information
• To help the client self explore

In the above scenario, you would want to question to pinpoint or clarify the issues since you can't make out much of what Mrs. Green is saying.

Positive questions

• All questions should be asked in a positive way.
• Avoid accusing, sarcastic or threatening language or tone in your questions.

For example: "What exactly are you getting at? Could you get to the point." Versus "I don't understand what you are trying to tell me. Could you please try to explain it in a different way?" (This is an example of changing a "you" statement into an "I" statement.)

• Remain supportive and non-threatening.

A positive question is one that a client is not afraid to answer

EXERCISE 1

Which of the following questions are positive?

Open Questions

• encourage an individual to talk and provide maximum information to identify causes and work toward solutions.
• usually begin with "how", "why" or "could".

Example: "Could you describe the kind of noise you are hearing?"

Closed Questions

• can be answered in a few words or sentences.
• are good for providing specifics.
• place the prime responsibility for talking on you.
• usually begin with "where", "are", "do".

Example: "Are you alone?"

Probes

Sometimes the individuals we are speaking with offer little detail in their responses. Probes:

• ask for more details.
• usually following up on a response.

Example: "Tell me more about how you are feeling."

EXERCISE 2

For each of the following questions, place an "O" for Open, a "C" for Closed and a "P" for Probe.

FIVE Ws AND THE HOW

Typically, whether a reporter or a police officer, the key questions to ask are:

• Who? Who are the clients? Who else is involved? In defining who the clients are, you might ask questions beginning with question words other than "who" but which further your knowledge of who is involved. For example, what are the key personal background factors?
  
  
• What? What is the problem? What are the client's perceptions of the problem? What are the specific details of the situation?
  
  
• Where? Where is the caller? Where did/does the problem occur? In what environment or situation?
  
  
• When? When did/does the problem occur? What immediately preceded and followed?
  
  
• Why? Why did the problem occur?
  
  
• How? How is the client? How does the client react or feel about what happened? How did the incident happen? Questions may start with other question words, but are looking for answers to the question "how". For example, what was the sequence of the events? What are the relevant details of the event? How can the situation be addressed to meet the needs of the client?

APPLICATION OF QUESTIONING TECHNIQUES TO THE SCENARIO

The following scenario involves a request for assistance. In your first questions (first five seconds), you should always establish whether the call is urgent or not in a polite and respectful manner. The questions "what" and "where" are essential to do so. This will ensure you go to the right place and prepare appropriately to approach the situation to ensure everyone's safety. It is very important to obtain:

1. the reason for the call, so that you can provide an appropriate response, safely;
2. an address, so you can attend even if the phone line is dead; and
3. a phone number, so you can call back for additional information if necessary.

If you cannot attend to the caller because of more urgent priorities, explain; if someone else is available, pass on the call, or offer to call back as soon as possible. Now read the scenario.

Scenario

For the purposes of this scenario, we will go through each type of question, "who", "what", "where", "when", "why" and "how", one at a time. Asking these questions correctly can contribute to your quick understanding of the problem as perceived by the client. In actuality, you would not ask the questions in any particular order, although "what" and "where" should be asked first to help you establish urgency. 

Who?

Before you can determine the nature of the problem, you have to communicate better with the caller, your client. You can barely make out what she is saying and she is not responding to your questions directly.

1. Why might that be?
   
   
2. What considerations would you take into account when phrasing your questions?

   Click here to check your answers.

   
   

You've now learned a good deal more about who your client is. You've established trust by asking questions in a caring manner. You still, however, do not know what the problem is.

What?

All you have been able to make out is the problem has something to do with noise.

1. What kind of question would you ask to help continue the discussion? Open or closed?
   
   
2. How would you phrase the question?

   Click here to check your answers.

   
   

In response to your question, you find out the following: Mrs. Green tells you that a group of children are playing ball hockey outside and are making a lot of noise, cheering and yelling so that she can't sleep. She has a cold and doesn't feel well enough to go outside to ask them to be quieter. 

Where?

It is also important that you locate more precisely where the children are playing in order to determine alternative solutions to the problem with Mrs. Green.

1. What kind of question would you ask, open or closed?
   
   
2. How would you phrase the question?

   Click here to check your answers.

   
   

Mrs. Green tells you that the children are playing on the dead end part of the street, which in fact is beside her house since hers is the last house on the block. She tells you that there is a bigger park around the corner.

Remember: where calls are urgent "what?" and "where?" are your key questions.

When?

It is important that you now find out at what time of day the disturbance is occurring. Night or day?

1. What kind of question would you ask, open or closed?
   
   
2. How would you phrase the question?

   Click here to check your answer.

   
   

In response to your question, you find out the following: The children play in the afternoon, at nap time. Mrs. Green tells you she is not well and needs her rest.

WHY?

It is important, if possible, to find out why the problem is occurring and whether it might be prevented from recurring.

1. What kind of question would you ask, open or closed?
   
   
2. How would you phrase the question?

   Click here to check your answer.

   
   

Mrs. Green tells you she is sure that the children would move their game. She gets along very well with them. In fact she usually provides them with cookies in the late afternoon, but she hasn't the strength to go outside and tell them. They don't know she is ill. She realizes that it's probably not a matter for the police, but didn't know who else to call.

HOW?

This question should determine how the client reacts, how he or she feels about the situation. The "how" questions are very important to arriving at solutions to problems that are client-centered.

1. What kind of question would you ask, open or closed?
   
   
2. How would you phrase the question?

   Click here to check your answer.

   
   

Mrs. Green tells you that she loves children and is usually very pleased by the sounds of their playing. However, she is feeling very poorly and the noise is proving too much for her. She needs to sleep. She would prefer that you not come over as the children may feel that she told the police to scold them. She provides the names of two neighbours one of whom is the parent of one of the children playing.

Note: Mrs. Green's reference to using a police officer as an authority figure, someone who could "scold". By definition, as a police officer you are and will be perceived by the public as a person in authority.

By now, as a result of your questions, you probably have a different understanding of the problem than you did initially. We went through the questioning process very systematically. In an actual situation, you would likely intersperse the 5 Ws and the "How" depending on how the conversation unfolded. You should however, by the end of the conversation, have covered all the basic questions: who, what, when, where, why and how.

CAUTIONS WHEN QUESTIONING

Asking a question cleverly will increase the likelihood of your getting a good understanding of the issues quickly. However, there are certain things you should avoid:

• Bombardment / Grilling- Too many questions will put your client on the defensive or they may allow you to control the conversation which may limit what you ultimately find out. "Why" questions, if improperly asked, often cause individuals to become defensive.
  
  
• Multiple Questions - If your question contains several questions, you may confuse the client.
  
  
• Questions as Statements - Avoid leading your client to accept your point of view by turning a statement into a question. Example: Don't you think you should tell the children to go away?
  
  
• Questions and Cultural Differences - Rapid fire questioning is not received favorably and can create distrust in individuals from non-western cultures.
  
  
• The person who is doing the questioning is in control of the discussion. Questions should be used fairly with client service as the goal.

© RCMP-GRC
ecdp0071.doc
May 14, 1998

Revised: July 7, 2000