Get better answers by asking the right questions

Asking questions seems like a simple enough task, but slight variations in how you deliver them can mean big changes in the quality of the feedback you receive.

To get valuable answers from your employees, peers and supervisors, check out the tips that follow. Avoid the ambiguity of ‘should’

Questions that begin with words like “Should,” “Is/Are,” or “Do you think ...” are more likely to land you a comparatively less helpful “yes” or “no.”

They also leave your subject wondering, for example, whose version of “should” you’re trying to get at. Instead of soliciting the subject’s idea of what should be done, a “should” question might have him or her guessing at what he or she believes you or someone else thinks should be done.

In contrast to “should”-type questions, the classic who, what, when, where, why, and how questions will typically solicit more meaningful, thoughtful, and complete responses.

No multiple choice

Once you’ve asked a question, don’t fill in possible answers for the subject. You may think you’re providing clarification and giving the person options from which to choose, but instead, you’re putting restrictions on his or her answer.

Soak in the silence

Don’t be too quick to fill in silence created by a subject’s hesitation. He or she might be thinking. If the individual needs clarification, let him or her ask for it. When it is appropriate to rephrase or provide more details, be sure your question is still carefully constructed.

One question at a time

Delivering multiple inquiries at once will usually result in the subject answering just one question — often the one they feel is the most straightforward or has the safest answer. If the subject tries to answer both questions at once, you may find yourself with a rather convoluted answer.

Skip the fishing expedition

If you want truly valuable answers, your questions can’t even hint at what you hope or expect responses to be. Some subjects won’t even realize they’ve been steered toward a particular answer. The ones that do might not be brave enough to contradict your implied expectations.

Consider what you’re looking for

You can ask questions that are so vague that the answer tells you little to nothing. For instance: “Do you enjoy your

job?”

In this example, an employee may enjoy parts of his or her job, and could therefore respond with either “yes” or “no,” which provides very limited data. Or, the employee may love the job, but hate his/her manager, which again, could cause some employees to say “yes” and others to say “no.”

Always consider what you’re trying to find out with your questions before you ask. For instance, if your hope is to find out employees’ likelihood of staying with your organization, “Do you enjoy your job?” probably won’t yield relevant data. Bad data = bad decisions

While it’s relatively easy to manipulate data to say what you’d like it to say, or to match your assumptions, relying on bad data will almost always lead to bad decisions.

Improving your questions helps limit miscommunications, helping you base your decisions on more factual evidence, and likely also helping employees to feel heard and understood.