Spot the difference:1. Are you having a good day so far?2. Tell me, what’s gone well in your day so far?In both I am asking about your day, but which is going to garner the greatest response?Questions are at the core of my job as a coach: to ask the best question to help the client draw out their options, their truths and choose their best way forward.They can be powerful tools, used to gather information, generate ideas, develop thinking, engage and even influence the recipient. They all present the potential and possibility of a yet unknown answer.Knowing how to deftly use different questioning types can help us more accurately and efficiently achieve our outcomes in any conversation or exchange.Looking at the examples at the beginning, it’s easy to guess what kind of answers we might get from each, not the content but the likely amount of information we’ll receive. This is the difference between closed and open questions.Closed questions can be answered by a single word or simple phrase. They typically start with the words: Are, Do, Have, Would, If, Will… or are questions with an expected numeric response, for example questions about time, age, costs etc. Any opinion can be turned into a closed question by adding tag questions to the end of them. For example: These kinds of questions can be used to influence opinions in this way, can’t they?Closed questions find out facts, give the person answering the option of a quick and easy response, and allow the questioner to keep control of the conversation. They are useful as a way to break the ice and in casual conversation, because they don’t delve deep. They are also good for testing someone’s knowledge or understanding of something.Closed questions can be used to direct the answerer towards giving a desired response. It’s something we may have all done at some point, probably without realising it. A simple, innocuous example of using a series of closed questions to influence an outcome might be: Don’t you just love Italian food? Could you eat? Do you want to go to that little place on the corner?When asking open questions, we offer the control of the conversation to the respondent. These are best used to discover more about the other person what they need, or want or what concerns they may have etc. Open questions give the person replying an opportunity to express themselves in more detail and so create the feeling that the asker is actually interested in hearing from them. They make people feel attended to and imply genuine concern.What, Why, How, Describe… are some ways to begin open questions.The way we ask a simple question affects the quality of the response we get and even how the other person feels about us asking it.Questions engage the other person. I personally can sometimes feel rubbed the wrong way if I am just told to do something.Imagine, instead of our managers issuing a command or an order, we are presented with a question like “What’s the best way you can deal with this?” Immediately we feel engaged in the situation and feel like our opinion matters. We have a sense of autonomy and control, which is empowering. We have to think to respond and we are invested in not only the options we choose to present but also the final results.Questions can further be used to slice through limiting assumptions and beliefs. These are often the kinds of questions used in coaching. When we get stuck and are not taking action on something, the reason is often due to a limiting assumption about ourselves that is stopping us. For example: I can’t take the risk, I’m not qualified enough, they’ll think I’m stupid (which actually means, ‘I think I am stupid’), I’m too old/young/fat/thin… etc. Sometimes asking just the right question can break through that thought pattern. Nancy Kline, leadership teacher and author of ‘Time to Think: Listening to Ignite the Human Mind’ says that including incisive questions is fundamental to the creation of a thinking environment.The way to pose an incisive question is to first identify the limiting assumption or belief, and incorporate a freeing one instead.For the examples above, I might ask:If you could trust you were safe to take action, how would you proceed?If you knew you were as qualified as a CEO, how would you present yourself?If you believed you were equally intelligent to everyone around you, what would you do?If you knew you were just the right age/just the right weight, just as you are, what would that change for you?These questions are simple to ask and are so effective because they help us move beyond where our thinking got stuck and present us with new options, possibility and excitement.Through understanding how to wield the simple but effective tool of ‘a good question’ we can create new possibilities, open lines of communication, influence others in a positive way, increase our management skills for eliciting engagement and personal responsibility and ultimately optimise human potential.How will you use the power of questions to further your success?Julia Pitt is a trained success coach and certified NLP practitioner.For further information telephone 705-7488 or visit www.juliapittcoaching.com.