Open and closed questions merely represent the two overarching concepts for a whole host of questioning techniques that you can use at work. Which method is most promising for you is largely determined by the situation. After all, depending on whether it’s an annual appraisal meeting between a boss and employee or a project meeting with coworkers, different questioning techniques are best suited for the different goals pursued. While an appraisal meeting benefits from a trusting and calm atmosphere, encouraging participants to engage in lively discussion and provide solution-oriented ideas is more important when it comes to moderating techniques.
In practice, it’s best when you don’t restrict yourself to just a single pre-selected method, but instead combine different variants with each other. This enables you to respond flexibly during a discussion.
In the following paragraphs, we explain which question methods are ideally suited to which conversation situations. All the question types listed below can be formulated as both open and closed questions. When opting for a particular variant, you should also consider the mood of the conversation participants and how much time you have for the conversation.