Handout 3 Asking Probing Questions Fundamentally, asking probing questions is simply a method of seeking more information from a person. There are many ways to seek this information and many reasons for you to do so. Probing questions are NOT meant to satisfy your curiosity about the details of a person’s life or to gather irrelevant information which will only detract from the effectiveness of your leadership. Types of Probing Questions Questions did that make you feel?” “How was your response to that?” “What Requests you tell me a little bit more about...?” “Could could you describe what your ideal outcome to the situation might be? “So, Statements still not quite sure about…” “I’m hear you saying… and but I’m confused about how they relate to each other.” “I … Uses of Probing Questions Start a Dialogue Example: how have things been going at church for you so far?” or are you doing?” “So, “How People may come to you wanting to talk something or get support, but they’re nervous or not quite sure how or where to begin. A little probing at the beginning of a conversation can be helpful. Help People Explore and Express Feelings Example: did that make you feel?” or was that like for you?” “How “What If most of what a person is giving you is just narrative detail about things that have happened or situations in their life, probing questions can help focus in on the really crucial material of a person’s feelings. Keep Things Focused Example: of all of things you just mentioned, which feels like it’s the biggest or most “So, pressing right now?” you were talking about… could you give me a little more info about “Earlier that?” going back to the situation with… what were you hoping to get out of that “So, experience?” Probing questions can be used to figure out the key issues on which to focus. Sometimes people will inadvertently wander off the topic. Sometimes people will intentionally (although
Handout 3 Asking Probing Questions Fundamentally, asking probing questions is simply a method of seeking more information from a person. There are many ways to seek this information and many reasons for you to do so. Probing questions are NOT meant to satisfy your curiosity about the details of a person’s life or to gather irrelevant information which will only detract from the effectiveness of your leadership. Types of Probing Questions Questions “How did that make you feel?” “What was your response to that?” Requests “Could you tell me a little bit more about...?” “So, could you describe what your ideal outcome to the situation might be? Statements “I’m still not quite sure about…” “I hear you saying… and … but I’m confused about how they relate to each other.” Uses of Probing Questions Start a Dialogue Example: “So, how have things been going at church for you so far?” or “How are you doing?” People may come to you wanting to talk something or get support, but they’re nervous or not quite sure how or where to begin. A little probing at the beginning of a conversation can be helpful. Help People Explore and Express Feelings Example: “How did that make you feel?” or “What was that like for you?” If most of what a person is giving you is just narrative detail about things that have happened or situations in their life, probing questions can help focus in on the really crucial material of a person’s feelings. Keep Things Focused Example: “So, of all of things you just mentioned, which feels like it’s the biggest or most pressing right now?” “Earlier you were talking about… could you give me a little more info about that?” “So, going back to the situation with… what were you hoping to get out of that experience?” Probing questions can be used to figure out the key issues on which to focus. Sometimes people will inadvertently wander off the topic. Sometimes people will intentionally (although
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