Powerful Questions
Questions are an important element of a facilitation and can enable enriching discussion and healthy debate. It is helpful to bring a set of questions that may be relevant to the proposed objectives of the session. A pre-facilitation survey may help to identify key areas to address with further questions.
Effective methods include: open-ended questions (avoiding yes/no responses); group questions that can be posed to any participant; individual questions that are adapted for key stakeholders or partners; and factual questions to gather critical information.
Examples might include:
- What has led you to that point of view or perspective?
- What gives you pause or concern related to this idea/topic?
- [insert name], how do you think this will be helpful for your research?
- Where would be the best location to host this engagement?
Tips
Facilitators should minimize the use of “why” at the beginning of questions. This word can often evoke feelings of defensiveness in participant responses. Using “what” and “how” can create a more open and approachable question.