Dynamic inquiry

5. Dynamic Inquiry (Powerful Questions)

“Everyone has their own answers. They just need to be asked the right questions.”

“Let go of having to know everything. Coaches have the right questions, not the answers.”

“To provide answers is easy. To ask insightful questions is hard.”

--Coachfucious

Powerful Questions

Asking questions is the key to gaining knowledge. A question can be the most useful tool to assist people to think clearly and solve problems. Compelling questions help with the problem-solving process. They “dig in” deeper and open our thought to explore ideas even further. While you may not immediately know the characteristics of a powerful question, it’s actually quite easy to recognize one.

Exercise: Score the power of these questions on a scale from 1 to 10 (with 10 being the highest):

1. How was your week?
2. Did you have any difficulties finishing the report?
3. What possibilities exist that we haven’t thought of yet?
4. What does it mean to be conscious of your words?

A powerful question:

• generates curiosity in the listener
• stimulates creativity
• motivates fresh thinking
• is thought-provoking
• generates energy and forward movement
• opens the door to change
• evokes more questions

The Construct of a Question

The linguistic construction of a question can make a critical difference in either opening our minds or narrowing the possibilities we can consider. Is it a yes/no question? Is it an either/or question? Does it begin with Who, What, or How?

Try It! Place these words in a pyramid of lower to higher power. Don’t think too much; use your intuition.

Who What

When Where

Why How

Which Yes/No Questions

More Powerful ------ Less Powerful

Reframing the Question

Example:

• Are you satisfied with our working relationship?
• When have you been most satisfied with our working relationship?
• What is it about our working relationship that you find most satisfying?
• Why might it be that that our working relationship has had its ups and downs?

Compare these questions. What type of response might you get?

What did we do wrong and who is responsible?

What can we learn from what’s happened and what possibilities do we now see?

Why did you do it that way?

I’m interested to know why you chose to do it in that way?

What is taking you so long to make a decision?

What missing information prevents you from making the decision?

Do you really think that is a good idea? (Or worse: That is a bad idea.)

What are some other options we can explore?

Examples of Powerful Questions

Exploration	Moving to Action
May we explore that some more? What other angles or ideas can you think of? What is just one more possibility? What are your other options?	What's your action plan or game plan? What needs to be done to change the situation? What will you have to do to get the job done? What support do you need to accomplish this? Where do you go from here?
Developing Options	Identifying Barriers
What are the possibilities you can create? If you had your choice, what would you do? What are the possible solutions or actions? What can you do to solve this? If you had it to do over, what would you do differently?	What seems to be the trouble? What seems to be the main obstacle? What is stopping you? What concerns you the most is …..? What is it you are resisting?

Reframing to Ask the Big Questions

1. Did you finish the report yet?
2. What did you accomplish this week?
3. What is your plan for next week?
4. How come there has been no progress on this item?
5. Why didn’t you follow my instructions?
6. Who approved this?
7. What have I done wrong?