Open-ended Inquiry Guide

Types of Questions

Open-ended questions - encourage exploration, expansion, and self-discovery

• Start with: What? Where? When? How? Why? Who?
• Cannot be answered with a yes/no/maybe
• Do not include a pre-determined answer
• The primary inquiry tool for coaching – focus on becoming highly skilled at this
• Examples
  • How did that work?
  • What’s your goal?
  • What do you think you need?
  • Who might be able to support you?

Leading/suggestive questions – direct the client’s thinking 

• Include a pre-determined answer or possible solution
• NOT aligned with the coaching approach – refrain from this
• Examples
  • Do you think you can do it? (leading and closed-ended)
  • Can you get someone to help you? (leading and closed-ended)
  • Could you be more confident if you were more focused on your strengths? (leading and closed-ended)

Closed-ended questions – shut down dialogue, narrow the possible responses

• Can be answered with a yes/no/maybe
• Questioner in control – can be appropriate to close out the session to wrap-up or as quick check in questions (sparingly, where necessary)
• Examples
  • Did you figure it out?
  • Can you talk to them?
  • Could it work?

Powerful Questions - Open-ended questions that evoke discovery about the person, their situation, and/or a way forward.

Internal factors – thoughts, feelings, values, needs, desires, beliefs

• What would you like to see happen?
• What do you think about that?
• How do you feel about that?
• What matters to you?
• What do you need?
• What do you believe happened?

Influencing factors – contributors to patterns of experiencing

• What led to your response?
• How would you typically handle it?
• What would you like to do?
• How would you rather feel?
• How did you perceive it?

Possibilities – invite the client to generate ideas about how to move forward

• Where do you go from here?
• How would you like to handle it?
• What can you do?
• What’s a manageable next step?