| What are CLOSED questions? | When should I use them in coaching? |
| Closed questions are those that do not invite discussion but require a literal response, usually of a few words.For example:Was company xyz the last organisation you worked for? (yes or no)When did you join this team? (a date or a year)Do you like working with this team? (yes or no or sometimes)Do you think customers are more important or staff? (customers or staff) | They are useful for:Establishing factsClosing down a topicFocusing a more talkative coacheeConfirming agreementClarifying a situation – ‘Can I just check my understanding? Did you make that decision or did Marketing?’ |
| What are OPEN questions? | When should I use them in coaching? |
| Open questions are those that invite the coachee to talk fully about a topic.For example:How did you decide what to do?Why did you join this company?What do you like about working with this team? | They are useful for:Opening up an area to exploreEncouraging the coachee to think something throughFinding out more informationGetting the coachee to set the agenda |
| What are PROBING questions? | When should I use them in coaching? |
| Probing questions/statements can be used to open up the topic of conversation or probe generalisations such as “everyone”, “always”.For example:Tell more about that.Explain that to me.Can you give me a specific example?What is it about x?When did x happen?How did you feel about x? | They are useful for:Expanding the topic out after a closed questionEncouraging a coachee to expand after a short responseEncouraging a coachee to think about a situation or experienceGetting to what is not being saidHelping to provide more detailFocusing on one element of the answer to an open question |
Examples of coaching questions
- What are your thoughts on this?
- What is your concern on this, and how important do you think it is?
- What is stopping us from making progress on this?
- What do you see as your key contribution to the team?
- What do you think we (or I, or you) can do about this?
- What steps could we take with that now?
- How do you see this going in the future?
- What would it take for this process to be a success?
- What obstacles will need to be overcome on the way?
- What are all the different ways in which we could approach this issue?
- What else could you do?
- What would you do if you were me?
- Which option would give the best result?
- Which of these solutions appeals to you most?
- Which would give you the most satisfaction?
- How could the situation change?
- How could you improve the situation?
- What further support do you need?
- How can you access this support?
- Is there anything else we need to talk about?
Further information
Is this an area of concern for you? Contact Leading Governance for more help.