You want meeting participants to chime in with their answers to your questions, right?
Far too often, you frame up what appears to be the perfect open-ended question and get nothing. Crickets.
What’s the problem? Perhaps your question was too hard. You can make it easier for your participants by helping them see their answers.
In this YouTube video, facilitator Michael Wilkinson shares his three steps for creating a question that’s easy to answer.
It’s nine-minutes worth watching to see an example of how to do it. If you’re time-crunched, here’s the summary.
- Start with an image-building phrase: “Remember a time when…”, “When X has happened to you…”
- Extend the image with a couple additional phrases: “What happened just prior to it?” “What problems did it create for you?”
- Bring it home with what you want to know: “What will help you better prepare?” “What steps need to be included to complete the work?”
Give it a watch and let me know what you think.