It's hard to ask good questions. This presentation describes the structure, phrasing and sequencing required for effective questions

1. How to ask
a question

2. 2
• Easily understood
• No longer than it needs to be
• Takes account of what’s been said or done
previously
• Thought-provoking
A good question is…

3. What’s the syntax of a question?
Subject: what are we talking about?
Query: what do you want to know about it?
Questions have two parts

4. Let’s talk about ice cream
Subject: what are we talking about?
Subject and query are best separated

5. What’s your favourite flavour?
Query: what do you want to know about it?
Subject and query are best separated

6. Let’s talk about ice cream
What’s your favourite flavour?
Subject and query are best separated

7. The next thing I’m going to ask you
about is front doors, which is
something that we’ll talk about now,
and then later on in the interviews,
but in the meantime I want to ask you
about it initially.
What colour’s yours?
Subject shouldn’t be too long

8. The next thing I’m going to ask you
about is front doors, which is
something that we’ll talk about now,
and then later on in the interview, but
in the meantime I want to ask you
about it initially.
So. What colour’s your front door?
Subject shouldn’t be too long

9. Let’s talk about ice cream
What’s your favourite flavour?
Avoid assumptions: establish relevance

10. Do you like ice cream?
What’s your favourite flavour?
Let’s talk about ice cream Subject
Relevance
Query
Avoid assumptions: establish relevance

11. Do you like ice cream?
What’s your favourite flavour?
Relevance
Query
Subject
Avoid assumptions: establish relevance

12. Let’s talk about going on holiday
Have you been away this summer?
Where to?
Yes
Lisbon
Create question chains

13. What made you
choose Lisbon?
Why did you
choose Lisbon?
What drew you
to Lisbon?
How come
Lisbon?
Where to?
Yes
Lisbon

14. What drew you to Lisbon?
Where to?
Yes
Lisbon
It was a great deal, and
it’s a bit unusual

15. What drew you to Lisbon?
Where to?
Lisbon
It was a great deal, and
it’s a bit unusual
‘Authentic’
‘Fresh’
‘Exclusive’
‘Gritty’
‘Accessible’
‘My kind of place’

16. What drew you to Lisbon?
Where to?
Lisbon
It was a great deal, and
it’s a bit unusual
When you say ‘unusual’…?

17. It was a great deal, and
it’s unusual
When you say ‘unusual’…?
…
Earlier, you described it as ‘unusual’,
but you’ve just said it’s ‘predictable’
I chose Lisbon because
it’s predictable

18. Let’s talk about going on holiday
Have you been away this summer?
Where to?
When you say ‘unusual’…?
Earlier, you described it as ‘unusual’,
but you’ve just said it’s ‘predictable’
Subject
Relevance
Query
Probe
Challenge

19. A good question
• Easily understood
• No longer than it needs to be
• Situated in a chain
• A reflection of what’s been said previously
• Draws on participant’s own language
• Thought-provoking

20. What’s the
perfect
question?

21. Question chains
Different for every interviewee
Showing, not asking
Your own style
Silence