Effective Questioning Techniques for Workshop Leaders

Weak questions bore brains. Let’s crank the voltage. Afraid to dig deep? Let sharper queries unravel. By the end of this post, you’ll have a toolkit to ask questions that spark curiosity, reveal hidden opportunities, and guide conversations like a master negotiator. After years in negotiation, I’ve learned that asking the right questions isn’t just an art—they’re a game-changer. Here are 5 types of questions to elevate any conversation: 𝟭. 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 📌 𝗣𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲: Dig deep. Understand the big picture. 🛠️ 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵: Use open-ended “what,” “how,” or “why” questions to encourage free sharing. 💡 𝗘𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲: “𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱?” 𝟮. 𝗖𝗶𝗿𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 📌 𝗣𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲: Reveal patterns and relationships. 🛠️ 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵: Ask how people, ideas, or events influence each other. 💡 𝗘𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲: “𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯-𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺?” 𝟯. 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 📌 𝗣𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲: Inspire self-awareness and critical thinking. 🛠️ 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵: Gently challenge assumptions and help connect actions to outcomes. 💡 𝗘𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲: “𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦?” 𝟰. 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 📌 𝗣𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲: Unlock creativity and spark innovation. 🛠️ 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵: Ask forward-looking or “what if” questions to inspire out-of-the-box thinking. 💡 𝗘𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲: “𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘸𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦?” 𝟱. 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 📌 𝗣𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲: Align actions with long-term goals. 🛠️ 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵: Focus on weighing options and balancing risks and rewards. 💡 𝗘𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲: “𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨-𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮 𝘨𝘰𝘢𝘭𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳?” Great questions aren’t random—they’re your most powerful tools for influence, innovation, and clarity. Master them, and you’ll master the room. What’s one question you’ve asked that completely changed a conversation? Drop it below—I’d love to learn from you. (𝘗.𝘚. 𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘸𝘬𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳!)

Great leaders don't have better answers. They ask better questions. A study of high-performing teams found this pattern: The highest-trust leaders ask 2-3x more questions than they make statements. But the type of question matters even more than the quantity. Here are 5 conversation shifts that unlock growth and build trust: 1. Replace "Why did this happen?" with "What led to this outcome?" → "Why" triggers defensiveness → "What" invites exploration → Revenue discussions become more honest when blame is removed 2. Replace "Do you agree?" with "What would you add?" → One seeks validation → The other uncovers blind spots → Market insights emerge when teams feel safe to disagree 3. Replace "What's your solution?" with "What's step one?" → Big questions paralyze teams → Small questions create momentum → Projects move faster when perfectionism doesn't block progress 4. Replace "Have you considered X?" with "What options did you explore?" → First undermines confidence → Second builds ownership → Teams that own solutions implement them with 40% more commitment 5. Replace problem-focus with strength-focus → "What's broken?" creates anxiety → "What's working that we can build on?" creates clarity → Growth happens at the intersection of challenge and capability The quality of your questions determines the quality of your results. What conversation shift would most improve your team's performance? ♻️ Share if this challenged your leadership approach 🔔 Follow Mike Hays for more strategic communication insights

The 2-second tweak to 𝗳𝗶𝘅 𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 (from “why” to “how”) Great leaders ask great questions. But even the best intentions can backfire when a simple “why” question triggers defensiveness instead of solutions. Chris Voss, the former FBI hostage negotiator, teaches us a powerful truth: “𝗵𝗼𝘄” 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 “𝘄𝗵𝘆” 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸. Asking “why” may sound innocent, but it often puts people on the defensive —especially in tough conversations. By flipping your “why” into a “how,” you create room for trust, problem-solving, and shared ownership. Here are 10 common “why” questions leaders should 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 “𝗵𝗼𝘄” 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: ----- Instead of: “Why isn’t this project done yet?” Ask: “How can we clear obstacles to move this project forward?” This shifts the focus from blame to solutions. ----- Instead of: “Why aren’t you motivated?” Ask: “How can I help you feel more engaged in your work?” Builds empathy and trust. ----- Instead of: “Why do you think this isn’t working?” Ask: “How can we adapt this approach to make it more effective?” Inspires creative thinking and collaboration. ----- Instead of: “Why did you choose that approach?” Ask: “How did you decide on this approach, and what are the key factors driving it?” This encourages explanation without putting the other person on the defensive. ----- Instead of: “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Ask: “How can we improve communication moving forward?” This opens the door for constructive feedback instead of defensiveness. ----- Instead of: “Why are team members disengaged?” Ask: “How can we create an environment where the team feels more connected and engaged?” This shifts the conversation to actionable steps rather than just diagnosing problems. ----- Instead of: “Why aren’t you hitting your targets?” Ask: “How can we work together to get you closer to your targets?” This communicates support and shared accountability. ----- Instead of: “Why is this taking so long?” Ask: “How can we work together to get this back on track?” “How” conveys partnership and reduces the pressure of feeling judged. ----- Instead of: “Why do we always run into this issue?” Ask: “How can we address the root cause of this problem?” Shifts from frustration to actionable problem-solving. ----- Instead of: “Why didn’t this go as planned?” Ask: “How can we adjust our process to prevent this in the future?” Encourages learning and improvement over assigning blame. ----- The key takeaway: Leadership conversations should empower, not interrogate. Reframing “why” as “how” changes the tone from critical to constructive, fostering trust and solutions. ---- 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Which reframing resonates with you most? Share your thoughts below ⤵ ---- ♻️ Repost and share these leadership tips ➕ Follow me, Ashley V., for more 📲 Book an anonymous coaching session