How to Ask the Right Questions in Interviews and User Research | by Nancy Pong

Those who skillfully talk to you about you are the easiest to win over, and when they talk about themselves, they open up such nooks and crannies of the soul that questions are not immediately approached. Questions that will help you win over your interlocutor and get to know him better should be open-ended, that is, imply detailed answers rather than clear “yes” and “no.”

The ability to ask questions is considered an art when you do not extract information and do not make your interlocutor feel as if during an interrogation, you know how to listen, and monitor body language. We willingly answer questions that we have never had to think about before: these are psychological questions, bonding questions, awareness questions, as well as original and unexpected questions that will be discussed in our material.

By giving your opponent the opportunity to talk about himself, you give him comfort, a feeling of relaxation and trust, and this affects the creation of closer and stronger relationships.

Why ask questions

Even the question mark itself reminds us of a fish hook. And indeed, in any dialogue, it is the question that is the hook with bait on which you can catch the interlocutor. If you know how to ask the right question, you can easily turn the conversation in any direction. However, this does not mean that questions are used solely for manipulative purposes. Not at all, in fact, well formulated, it suggests a fairly large number of possible alternatives. A question helps to obtain new information, opens the interlocutor to dialogue, directs the conversation and helps clarify certain points.

But that's not all. Since asking the right question is not as easy as it seems at first glance, it remains a minority skill. It is these people who can easily shift the conversation to another topic and suggest an answer. The function of the question is also to demonstrate one’s assessment, one’s opinion, and to tune the interlocutor’s emotions in a certain way.

If we consider the process of mastering new knowledge, then the ability to formulate a question is a kind of measure of the depth of awareness of the material received. It is not without reason that they say that only those who can think ask questions. That is, in order to ask questions, you need to be very well versed in this topic.

A general type of questions used in various fields

Rhetorical questions - their function is to produce a certain impact on a person and receive appropriate feedback, but not in the form of an answer (to ensure loyalty, interest, emphasize and remind about an unfinished topic). Such questions do not need a specific answer . Rhetorical questions must be formulated in such a way that they sound short and concise , relevant and understandable. Agreement and awareness will be confirmed by silence instead of response.
Provocative questions are asked with the aim of arousing emotions in the interlocutor , so that the person, in a fit of passion, reveals hidden information or blurts out something unnecessary. Provocative questions are pure manipulative influence, but sometimes they are necessary for the good of the cause. By asking provocative questions, you are challenging to some extent.
Confusing questions - they divert attention to the area of interest of the questioner, which lies aside from the main direction of the conversation. Such questions are asked either unintentionally (if you are interested in the topic of conversation, you should not ask about things that have nothing to do with it) or deliberately out of a desire to solve some of your own problems, to direct the conversation in the direction you need.
Relay questions are aimed at getting ahead and require the ability to grasp your partner’s remarks on the fly and provoke him to further reveal his position . For example: “Do you mean by this that...”.
Questions demonstrating knowledge - Their goal is to show off your own erudition and competence in front of other participants in the conversation, and earn the respect of your partner. This is a form of self-affirmation.
Mirror question - contains part of the statement spoken by the interlocutor. It is asked that a person see his statement from the other side, this helps to optimize the dialogue, give it genuine meaning and openness.
Alternative question - asked in the form of an open question, but contains several answer options . For example: “Why did you choose the profession of an engineer: deliberately, followed in the footsteps of your parents, or decided to enroll for a campaign, together with a friend, or maybe you yourself don’t know why?” Alternative questions are asked to activate the taciturn interlocutor.
A question that fills the silence. A good right question can fill an awkward pause that sometimes arises in a conversation.
Calming questions - can have a noticeable calming effect in difficult situations. You should be familiar with them if you have small children. If they are upset about something, you can distract them and calm them down by asking a few questions. This technique works immediately, because you have to answer questions, thereby being distracted. You can calm an adult in the same way.

Developing the ability to ask questions

Speaking about how to learn to ask the right questions, you involuntarily remember your school years. The first skills come from there, and they are often formed incorrectly. The standard form of education gives children the idea that there is only one correct answer to any question. That is, the desire to think is killed, only memorization is used. At the same time, the situation when a question is asked for which there is no ready answer is perceived as unpleasant. Although this situation is completely normal. By recognizing that we don't know the answer to a question and trying to find the answer, we are one step closer to learning how to ask the right questions. Moreover, the older a person is, the more rigid his thinking becomes and the more difficult it will be for him to adapt to new skills, so you need to learn to ask from early childhood. And questions, in fact, are needed to better navigate the world around us. Therefore, if you have learned to ask them, you will be more successful than those who have not learned this skill.

Tip 4: Ask about specific events

If you ask the user about a specific situation, their answers become more accurate. Respondents talk more sincerely about real-life experiences and provide more details. Try to use the wording of the question to push the respondent to a specific moment or situation in the past:

Was:
“What thoughts come to mind when you can’t complete a purchase online?”
Became:
“Tell me what you thought the last time you tried to buy something online and couldn’t?”

Where is the best place to ask questions?

In fact, it is difficult to describe any area of life that requires the development of this skill. On the one hand, you can do without it, but on the other hand, you will be more successful in any field if you know how to ask the right questions. In any conversation, even personal ones, asking the right questions will help:

Show interest in the interlocutor, no matter the professional side of his personality or personal qualities.
Make it easy for your interlocutor to understand your values and discover his politics.
Take the initiative in the conversation. This is the most important skill of a beginning speaker or any public figure. Questions will help keep the conversation going for the right amount of time, change the topic, and interrupt the interlocutor’s monologue.
Depending on your goals, questions will help you gain the necessary information, hint at a personal position, show trust or willingness to devote the right amount of time to a conversation.

In order to practice this skill, you should learn how to conduct internal dialogues, as well as practice with external dialogues.

What is internal dialogue

This is the first step you need to take if you want to know how to ask the right question to a person. It is internal dialogue that will allow you to learn to formulate thoughts. Moreover, this process must not be allowed to proceed chaotically. It has a specific goal - a detailed analysis of a specific situation or problem. Moreover, there is a list of questions that apply in this case. The first option includes the classic questions “what?”, “who?”, “where?”, “when?”, that is, a description of the situation as a whole. The second group of questions allows us to consider each of these in more detail. They are associated with aspects of facts and desires, feelings, time, obstacles and means. That is, the questions should clarify these aspects within the given topic. They help in understanding and making decisions based on their needs, preferences and determining the influence of other people on the situation. This makes it much easier to understand your inner world, organize internal dialogue and receive intelligible answers.

Types of questions to identify and formulate needs

In order to find out the customer's needs, there is a way of questions and answers. What types of questions should you ask:

O open, closed, alternative, leading, paraphrased, clarifying, tailed and other types of questions!

It is important to understand the difference between these types of questions.

"Open questions"

Questions that require a detailed answer, e.g. encouraging conversation. These are the questions that cannot be answered with a “yes” or “no” answer. These questions encourage your interlocutor to talk and you to receive information. They help your interlocutor understand that you are interested in his problems and that he also feels important. Open questions are questions to which we expect to receive the most detailed and complete answer on the topic asked. They begin with questions: “what”; "How"; “why”, etc.

Examples of open questions:

“Please tell me about...”
“Please describe to me...”
“I don’t quite understand how….?”
"How do you think?"
"How?"
"What is the reason?"
“What would you like to hear/see/feel?”
"How to do it?"
“How often do you check your warehouse inventory?”
“What was the effect of your last advertising campaign?”
“How many units do you sell monthly?”
“What do you think might sell poorly?”
“What options do you choose from?”
What do you think?"
“When will you be able to see our offer?”

The purpose of an open question is to get the client talking, get general information, understand what is behind the client’s statements, and get a pause to think.

Mistakes: asking open questions at the end of a conversation, asking open questions on abstract topics.

How to ask a question: an open question is asked using question words that are placed at the beginning of the sentence: Where?, What?, When?, In connection with what? etc.

"Closed Questions"

They have only two answers - YES or NO, and are designed to control the progress of the conversation in the direction that the sales representative has chosen. Closed questions that do not require a detailed answer. They are usually answered either “Yes” or “No” or simply stated as a fact. They usually begin: “Can you...”, “Do you have...”, “Do you know...”, “Should...”.

Examples of closed questions:

Have you sold these products before?
do you want to increase your turnover?
would you like to take 300 pieces?
Have we agreed on the first point of the agreement?
can we capture this?
Have you checked out our assortment?

The purpose of the question: to obtain consent, to obtain confirmation of agreements or assumptions, to clarify information, to record something, to end a conversation.

Mistakes: asking only closed questions, asking closed questions at the beginning of the sale, asking closed questions to which you can get an unnecessary “NO”, asking several closed questions in a row - like an interrogation.

How to ask a question - any declarative sentence can be turned into a closed question by raising it intonation towards the end of the sentence.

Features of application:

Serve to achieve agreement and monitor mutual understanding.
Provide additional detailed information.
Good for open people.
When repeated and used frequently, the conversation resembles an interrogation - maintain a balance!

«Alternative questions»

These are questions to which we expect to receive an answer in the form of the client choosing one of the options, which we indicate in the question itself. These are questions that have two or more answers, both of which confirm that your prospect is moving closer to making a purchase. If you ask, “Can I call you back this afternoon?” What answer will you get? "No". It’s better to say it differently: “I can call you back in the afternoon. What is more convenient for you at 2 o’clock or at 4 o’clock?” If he tells you: “It’s better in 4.” then you have continued telephone conversations. Or: “We need to set a release date. Which number would you be more comfortable with: 1 or 10?” Most likely, the answer will be: “We are most satisfied with the 1st date.”

In such questions, two sentences are concluded; refusal is not provided for. Techniques for choosing from two options are used in cases where you want to focus the client’s attention on a specific item or limit the offer to a certain framework. “Which model do you think would suit you better?” By asking this question, you avoid arguments and do not deprive him of choice. Using the “Choice without choice” technique when the wording of the question does not allow a negative answer.

Examples of alternative questions:

"Today or tomorrow?"
“Do you want blue, green or yellow?”
“I offer you three solutions……….”
“Is it more convenient for you to complete the documents now or later?”;
“Will you do it yourself or with help?”;
“Where would it be more convenient for you to meet me, in our office or in your store?”
“Do you still have any questions on this point or can we move on to the next part of the contract?”
“What should I do, in your opinion: this way or that way?”

Purpose of the question: to provide choices, to understand the client's areas of interest, to guide the client's thinking in choosing alternatives.

How to ask an alternative question: Think of 2 or more alternatives and ask a question that involves a choice between these alternatives using the conjunction "OR"

Mistakes: include in the question as one of the alternatives something that is not beneficial to you.

"Tailed Questions"

In essence, this is a closed question, but we expect to receive the answer we need - “YES”. The answer is already buried in this question!!! We usually recommend avoiding these questions in sales because they are perceived by many clients as manipulation and at any time the answer to this question can be “NO”, thereby ruining the sale. “Didn’t you say that Internet advertising plays an important role for you?” The answer to such a question is “Yes.” With this question you elicit a “Yes” answer. This question can also be used at the beginning of a conversation. The “Yes” moment is what every salesperson strives for. Once the client begins to agree, all you have to do is ask the right questions. Unbeknownst to himself, the client will end up where you are leading him and will receive enough information to make a wise decision, which is that he simply cannot live without your product or services. This technique is called the binding ( tying ) technique.

The beginning is an attempt to achieve a certain response with the end or beginning of your phrase. Standard openings are placed at the end of the phrase:

“The design of your website is especially important for you now, isn’t it?” ("Yes").

If what you say is true and obvious to the buyer, won't he agree? Here are examples of standard ties:

"Is not it….?"; “Isn’t that right...?”; "Is not it…?"; "Do you agree….?".

If you attach them to the end of your sentences, you will hear a lot of small “Yes” leading you to one big “Yes”. There are different approaches to using ties. The next tying method is the reverse tying method. In this case, standard ties “cling” to the beginning of the phrase: “Do you agree that ....?”; “Will this not provide you with...?”; “Do you agree that this is correct?” To establish greater warmth in the relationship with the client and variety, a reverse tie may well be suitable.

Another option could be to answer the client with a catchphrase:

Client: “Quality is important!”

You: “Do you think so too?”

Client: “I like white”

You're about! Do you like white too?”

In order to turn the conversation in the right direction, ask a few “closed” questions. They are also a good way to end a conversation.

How to ask a question: this is any statement you make that the client must agree with. At the end of the statement there is a special construction - a tail and a question mark.

Special designs: Isn't it?, Do you agree?, Yes?, Right? etc.

Examples of tailed questions:

That's 2 times more, isn't it?
All people want to ensure a stable income in retirement, don’t you agree?
This is faster than what you have now, right?

In order not to get the answer “NO” to a tailed question, you need to follow one rule: Your statement should not be controversial . It should be a fact that both you and the client know, or something that most of your potential clients can agree on.

Errors of tailed questions:

Incorrect: “This is great, isn’t it?”

Correct: “This will help you cut your expenses by half, right?”

Return to the section “Identification (formation) of needs”

Question words

To hone this skill and transfer it to external dialogue, there is the following exercise. Because asking the right questions when communicating is not at all easy. We will learn from the very basics. You need to come up with a specific theme for yourself, for example “Conflict”. Now remember the various concepts associated with this topic and write them down in the right field of the table (sheet divided in half). This can be anger and unjustified expectations, misunderstanding and rupture of relationships, stress relief and reconciliation. Question words (at least 10) are added to the left side. Now you have to formulate as many questions as possible that combine elements of both columns. Remember situations of conflicts, the causes of which were unclear to you. After carrying out this work, you need to analyze the list, select a couple of questions, the most insightful, productive, and try to argue for yourself based on what criteria such a choice was made.

Such different questions

Here you will need an interlocutor with whom you can practice the ability to find the most appropriate question in a given situation. The essence of the method is very simple. You need to decide on a topic that would be of personal interest to you. Now write down for yourself several questions about it that can be answered with a monosyllable “yes” or “no,” as well as others that require a detailed answer. For example: “Have you heard of our . Try conducting a dialogue using both question options and compare the results.

"Chamomile of Questions"

You can also practice the theory of asking questions using this simple technique. You will again need to choose an interesting topic for yourself; it may concern relationships in a team, in a family, or something else of your choice. Now in front of you are six petals, each of which will contain only one version of the questions:

Practical questions. That is, the relationship between theory and practice (“Analyzing the situation, what would you do in this place?”)
Simple questions. This is a usual clarification of facts, events, certain information.
Assessment questions. Everything is simple here, it turns out what the difference is, why this is good and this is bad.
Clarifying questions (“That is”; “If I understand you correctly...”)
Interpretive issues.
Creative questions (“What would have happened if this situation had unfolded 2000 years ago?”)

Such classes will allow you to develop the ability to ask questions, but without practical application, in dialogue, you will not be able to develop the skill.

Tip 1: Start by identifying your key topics

This may seem obvious, but first you need to think about it and understand what you want to get out of the interview. At this stage, try to outline the main topics that need to be covered - without moving on to specific questions yet. Be sure to agree with your team that these are the topics you want to cover during the interview.

Here's what your themes might look like:

“Why do people buy online?”
“How do people buy online?”
“What is the difference for users between online and offline purchases?”

Start with yourself, or Preparing for dialogue

It’s not for nothing that professionals say: ask the right questions, get the right answers. However, it is easy to be a genius in a casual friendly conversation. In any other situation, showing up unprepared at a meeting is unacceptable. You should have questions outlined in advance. Moreover, when starting a conversation, be sure to try to establish a good relationship with the person. Before asking your interlocutor about what interests you, you should show him how interested you are in him. Open questions are perfect for this, in which you ask the person to tell you a little about himself, how he spent the day, how he got to the meeting, and whether he is comfortable now. As soon as the conversation moves into a business direction, you can move on to questions prepared in advance. This will give you a psychological advantage.

Tip 3: Don't use language that might influence the answer.

A common mistake novice interviewers make is the desire to quickly get the answers they need. Chances are good that when you meet a respondent, you already have a rough idea of what they will tell you. But don't follow your intuition: your goal is to get clear, unbiased results.

Was:
“Does it really annoy you when something doesn’t work when you order something online?”
Became:
“Try to remember the last time you wanted to buy something online and something didn’t work. How did you feel?

Ability to ask open questions

Speaking about how to ask people questions correctly, it should be noted that this usually comes down to the ability to ask an open question (it requires a detailed answer). That is, you, as an interviewer, do not expect a prepared answer, you want to hear the person’s opinion on a given topic. This alone encourages someone to talk to you; in this way you show respect. If you need to know more facts about a situation, you can ask clarifying questions: “Who has anything to do with this?” It is very important to find out how the interlocutor feels about this situation. To do this, be sure to ask: “What is your opinion?”

It is very important for a good interviewer to be able to maintain a neutral position. Do not impose your opinion, although you can ask: “Have you considered this option?” Be sure to regularly ask your opponent what caused this decision and how he came to this conclusion. That is, open questions are a way to involve your interlocutor in a dialogue, bring him out of a state of isolation and set him up for dialogue.

Tip 2: Break questions down into chunks to make them easier to answer.

The topics listed above seem similar to each other, but in fact, each topic involves collecting different data. To do this, you need to agree with the team on the enlarged research goals - this will help to correctly identify topics and save a lot of time.

In the previous paragraph, we did not list the questions themselves that you will ask users, but only the topics. If you ask such broad questions, users' answers will be too general and vague. Therefore, having decided on the topics, start formulating questions:

Was:
“Why do people buy online?”
Became:
“What products do you buy online?”
“What products do you never buy online? Why?"
“What do you like most about the online payment process? What do you dislike most?”

Ability to ask closed questions

It would seem that open-ended questions are ideal for conducting any conversations and interviews. However, there are times when they are indispensable. For example, to ask the right question to men in discussions, you should formulate it as clearly and concisely as possible in order to get the same answer. Business men, as a rule, do not like lengthy dialogues; they need a clearly structured dialogue. The better you prepare for it, the more successful it will be. In addition, open questions always carry the danger that the interlocutor will lead the dialogue astray. Therefore, you need to be alert and close questions (that is, those that require an unambiguous answer or a “yes”/”no” answer) to return the interlocutor to the point. To do this, you have a number of questions in your arsenal: “how?”, “what?”, “who?”, “where?” and the like.

Theory without practice is useless, therefore, in order to really learn how to ask the right questions, you need to hone your skills daily in dialogues, analyze the course of the conversation and the achieved result. Don’t be afraid of failures, this is also an invaluable experience, thanks to which you will understand which techniques are better not to use.