Q&A for How to Ask Open Ended Questions

Yes, it is because it encourages thought exploration about the person's career and experiences. It's not a yes/no question.

How are things? What do you think of...? How was work/school today? How is your course going? What's for dinner tonight?

Since open-ended questions require more than simply "yes" or "no" answers, they provide the opportunity for meeting participants to share and elaborate thoughts they might not otherwise have the opportunity to, especially if the person leading the meeting expresses a sincere desire to hear everyone's ideas in advance of asking such questions.

Who is the gift for? What is the occasion? Does the person have any hobbies, collections, interests, etc.? Favorite food or drinks? Favorite color (if you are selling clothing or home decor)?

Ask them about things they may like, such as cartoons, video games, sports, school, friends, etc. Eventually they may start to feel more comfortable with you.

"What kind of toys do you like?" "Who is your best friend?" "What is the funniest moment you've had with your friends?" "What sports do you like most?" "What is your favorite thing about playing sports?" "What do you like best about school?"

"What do you do for a living?" "Where are you from?" "Where did you go to school?" "What do you like to do for fun?"

What do you like doing that makes you feel good? What is your fondest memory? Tell me about your loved ones.

Yes. If you are looking for a specific response, start out with an open-ended question to get details. When you have the information you are looking for, ask a closed-ended question.

Here's a great tip someone gave me: "On a scale of 1-10, how interested are you about______?" And when they give you a number, you simply ask them to clarify... Here's an example: On a scale of 1-10, how interested are you in having a party?(direct selling) (she said 2). Most people would think, "crap. she won't have a party"... But you say, "Why do you say 2?" "Oh, I'm new to town and I don't really know anybody here yet". Now you can work with that instead of just assuming they aren't interested... Make sense?

Then ask another open-ended question more specific to that subject. Ex: Question 1: How was school today? Answer 1: Good. Question 2: What subject are you writing about this week?

Include a smooth transition to the question, if possible, to make it not so blunt. Then, try to keep it simple, and not as probing as a normal open-ended question would be.