Opening questions examples. Question types. Open questions to identify customer needs examples

Questions fall into two broad categories: open and closed.

The first are the most general and entail answers that are not limited either by form or content. It can be said that open questions more democratic. An example of such a question is a phrase that invites the interlocutor to enter into a dialogue: "Tell me something about yourself ...". This can be specified: "Tell us, please, about your passion for horseback riding ...". However, even in this version, the question will remain open, because it leaves the interlocutor the right to choose what to answer, what to place accents and add details.

Here are some more examples of open questions:

“Mr. Minister, what is your forecast regarding the state of the securities market in the current half of the year?”;

“Doctor, what do you think is the cause of the sudden outbreak of this disease?”;

"Mr. Professor, what do you see as the main result of your experiment?"

Open-ended questions have common features that define their advantages and disadvantages. Here are some benefits of an open question:

encourages the interlocutor to answer, without limiting him in anything;

gives the interlocutor the opportunity to voluntarily convey information, freely talk about their feelings, comment on events;

orients a person to reflection, analysis of his actions, stimulates the birth of thoughts that previously, perhaps, did not occur to him;

makes it necessary for the journalist to listen and observe carefully.

And these are the disadvantages of open questions:

can provoke a long answer, so they are not always applicable in a time limit;

able to confuse an interlocutor who is not used to answering general questions;

can cause a confused and chaotic response, difficult to understand;

conceal the need to ask clarifying questions, interrupting the interlocutor, which can offend him and lead to difficulties during the conversation.

Nevertheless, open-ended questions are undoubtedly the most attractive tool for obtaining free, bright and unrestricted answers that make both the interlocutor and the journalist think.

Unlike open questions, closed questions require an affirmative or negative answer. Reporters use them when they need to get a tough, direct reaction from the interlocutor, for example, to confirm or deny a fact:

“Do you think this team will reach the semi-finals?”;

"Did they really try to blackmail you?"

The beauty of closed questions is that they are easy to ask and easy to answer. The journalist is in complete control of the conversation. Closed questions have the following advantages:

allow the reporter to get specific information without waiting for the interlocutor to think;

save valuable time, as they require quick response and short answers;

give the opportunity to "warm up" the interlocutor, without requiring serious work of the mind from him.

Meanwhile, closed questions do not stimulate the development of a dialogue, since they actually inform the interlocutor that the interviewer is only interested in confirming or denying information - nothing more. Most closed questions are bipolar; suggest only two predictable answers - "yes" or "no", not always implying explanations and arguments. "Do you like your job?" - "Well no)". Closed questions, therefore, often turn out to be too primitive for serious, thinking interlocutors. In addition, they do not always save time, because they entail a series of additional questions.

Which question to choose: open or closed? In the practice of interpersonal communications, there is a tendency to simplify the forms of communication. In everyday communication with relatives and friends, in business contacts, we often use closed questions. They are specific, easy to understand, do not require much thought to answer, cause an almost instantaneous reaction; Finally, they are easy to ask. Indeed, out of two possible questions: “Tell me, please, how did you feel during the thunderstorm?” and “Were you scared during the storm?” - in everyday conversation, we will undoubtedly give preference to the second.

And in an interview? Is such a simplistic communication strategy appropriate for the genre? In most cases, no. Although there are exceptions. Asking a question to his hero, a journalist, as a rule, expects him to describe situations (actions, feelings, etc.) or explain (actions, desires, assumptions, etc.). He also prefers that the subject of the interview does not mechanically "work out" the task, but engages in the process of conversation intellectually and emotionally, reflects on what was asked and gives out information in full. Is it possible to achieve such results with the help of closed questions, which, in principle, do not have either a description or an explanation, but offer a complete, unpromising answer, an affirmative answer (negation)? Will the answer to a closed question contain objective and unbiased information, even though the question already contained an answer option? I think not. Therefore, when formulating a question, try to put it in an open form.

In contrast to the answer to a closed question, the answer to an open one has serious advantages in the process of producing the final information product. When preparing a material for publication, when editing it for printing or editing it for television and radio, those components of the answer that arise as the interlocutor's thought process develops are very valuable.

First, in response to an open question, images and pictures may appear in the speech of the interlocutor.

From an interview with student S. with journalist Andrei Maksimov:

- They say that live broadcasting is an extreme situation.

What do you do before the broadcast? How are you setting up?

- I have a few signs before the broadcast. Firstly, I always enter the studio on the right foot, I am baptized. My editor always says to me: "No fluff, no feather", and I always answer him: "To hell!". Then I certainly rub my ears ... By the way, I can recommend it to you. This is such a training from fatigue. Helps a lot. I have long hair and you can't see that my ears are red. And so that I yell at someone - there is no such thing. There are presenters who specifically yell, but I'm not like that. Of course, I could shout at my wonderful makeup artist, especially since he is lower in rank than me and will not be able to answer me. But why?

Secondly, in response to an open question, dramatic plots, stories from the past may emerge.

From the same interview:

How did you feel during your first broadcast?

- I remember my first broadcast very well, I was extremely afraid. My first broadcast was not when I was interviewing, but when I opened the program. I said: “Hello! Today in our program you will see this and that…” I was so scared that I wanted to leave. After all, I have been working on television for a little over three years, this is not such a long time. In fact, I could completely leave television and feel great ... But my wife was so worried! She told me all the time when I had my first broadcasts, she always said: “You were just brilliant, amazing ...” And as it turned out later, she didn’t watch my first broadcasts at all ... "

Thirdly, it is more advantageous to quote answers to open-ended questions; it is easier to mount sound inclusions for radio and video clips for TV spots from them.

However, you should also take into account the fact that an open question can sometimes put your hero in an awkward position, simply because he is not able to understand it and, therefore, answer it. For example, an open question to an athlete, “How do you feel when you approach the finish line?” - can confuse your character if he cannot describe his feelings. However, you can reformulate the question, specifying it as much as possible and using verbs in the past tense, so that the interlocutor recalls his feelings: “What did you think (what did you think about) when you ran to the finish line at the Olympiad?”

Nevertheless, journalists often in their interviews raise questions about closed form. And they have their reasons for this. Let's try to analyze some of these cases.

A closed question is needed to confirm (deny) the content of the question.

"Are you going to participate in the elections?" "Yes" or "no" are the only possible answers. It is important to keep in mind that, depending on the situation, the interviewee will choose the most beneficial one for himself.

From an interview with Vladimir Pozner and Viktor Gerashchenko:

Do you keep any savings in the bank at all?

- But how.

- Of course.

It is believed that the answers to closed questions are absolutely predictable. However, there are cases when, having answered “yes” or “no”, the interlocutor embarks on reasoning. Most interviewees want to appear polite, well-mannered people, so they try to “help” the journalist and supplement their one-word answer to a closed question with further reasoning. Often these unpredictable sayings can contain very valuable information.

From a conversation between Dmitry Dibrov and film director Tigran Keosayan (Anthropology program):

Do you have a favorite movie?

No. I have a lot of them: "City Lights", for example, Chaplin. First course. VGIK. History of foreign cinema. Everyone laughs from the belly, I laugh myself. I have been silent for the last forty minutes. This is the eighty-fourth year. Dad comes from a shift, from Mosfilm. And he says: “Why are you so sad?”. I say: "You

you know, dad, I realized that I was going to the wrong place. Everything has already been taken. Here is Chaplin. All!". Dad says: "So what?". I say: “That's it! What will I shoot?" He burst out laughing, hugged me, kissed me and said: “Well done! I had the same reaction. Go on and study!"

By the way, journalists often wait for such a continuation and encourage the interlocutor, pausing after an affirmative or negative answer to a closed question. This pause, as it were, makes it clear to the interlocutor: "Come on, continue, I'm waiting for your thoughts ...".

However, one should not expect that all interviewees will easily respond to such a silent call to continue the conversation. For example, children rarely do this. Therefore, one must be prepared for other situations, and not rely on the "charity" of his hero.

Increasingly, journalists have to deal with interlocutors trained in special technologies for communicating with the press. Basically, these are people for whom it is important in one way or another to convey their “message” to a mass audience. This is done for different purposes: to create a positive image of a person or enterprise, to promote certain ideas, to "leak" information. For them, a closed question in an interview is a great find, because, after answering it, you can then say anything or make a pre-prepared speech: “How to say ... Actually, I would like to say this about ...”. The development of the interview according to this scenario will not be so inevitable if you ask an open question, because in this case the “leader” is the journalist, and the responder is the “follower”.

Here is how one journalist got an answer to the question posed by the Minister for Taxes and Duties Gennady Bukaev:

- Plans to create a financial police caused a lot of noise. They say her powers will be unlimited. Do you support these plans to create a financial police?

- You know, I have my own problems - to start and finish!

Eighty percent of the budget is provided by our ministry! These are such numbers and so many problems! And the creation of the financial police is the problem of the state...

- But if you are still asked when the financial police will be created, will you be “for” or “against”?

Basically, I don't think there will be any harm. The main thing is that this should be clearly regulated within the framework of the law ...

To avoid possible negative consequences closed question, you should use a combined question - “closed + open”. This is done in this way: you ask a closed question that requires negation or affirmation, and after it, without a pause, you “open” it with one interrogative pronoun or a short interrogative sentence.

“Have you given up the post of prime minister? Why?";

“Did you witness the explosion?

How did it happen?

As can be seen from the examples, after a closed question, an affirmative answer to which is predictable, an open question “after” follows, which provokes the interlocutor to reflect, explain or describe the event, which is actually included in the informational tasks of the interview.

How to ask open questions. The technology of conducting interviews in the form of open questions is actually very simple, and is known to all journalists who are familiar with the laws of constructing event information. It stands on six "whales" - six interrogative pronouns that form interrogative sentences that encourage the interlocutor to convey certain positive information. Let's call them again: who? what? where? when? as? why?(in the domestic tradition it is often added - why?). In English-language journalism, for brevity, they are called the formula 5W + H by the first letters of the questions - who? what? where? when? how? why?

The self-sufficiency of these questions for obtaining information has long been proven, and practical journalism around the world uses the 5W + H principle to create event-oriented news messages.

True, the formula of six questions in the practice of interviews conducted by our journalists tends to expand due to the lexical and grammatical features of the Russian language, in particular, its rich synonymy. However, the semantics of the questions remain unchanged.

In a question that uses an interrogative pronoun who in its different cases (without prepositions and with prepositions), information about the object of the event, its participants and actors is requested.

"Who was present at the negotiations?";

“With whom of the participants in the negotiations did you manage to find a common language?”;

“Which member of the delegation came up with the idea of ​​signing a joint statement?”;

“Which of the delegates was not satisfied with the text of the joint communique?”.

If the object of the message is an inanimate object, then the interrogative pronoun is used accordingly. what and all its grammatical forms.

"What did you see when the solar eclipse began?";

"What did you especially lack during the flight into space?".

Question using an interrogative pronoun what , in fact, in a more common form it sounds: what happened? - and finds out what happened to the object of the message, what actions he performed, what qualities he acquired.

"What did you do when you felt the explosion?";

What really happened to the plane at the time of the crash?

The question about a place that is unclear for the questioning circumstance is asked using the adverb where. The nuances of the circumstances of what happened in questions are clarified by adverbs where and from where.

Where did the plane crash happen?

"Where is your rescue team heading now?";

"Where did the plane with humanitarian aid come from for the victims of the earthquake?".

The question about the circumstance of time is framed with the help of the adverb when, and about the shades of this circumstance - with the help of adverbs since when and until what time.

"When did the plane crash happen?";

“Since when (since when, since when) did you stop trusting your assistants?”;

“Until when (until what time) will the commission for the restitution of cultural monuments work?”.

The question, which opens with the adverb how, should clarify the circumstances of the course of action or event, and the answer should describe how it happened.

“How did it happen that they only found out about this accident the next day?”;

"How does a solar eclipse happen?";

How did you manage to free the hostages?

What the multi-valued English question why asks is given in Russian by two different options. The question of the goals of actions - with the help of the adverb why (for what purpose); the question of the causes of what happened - through the adverb why (for what reason).

“Why did you need so many rescue teams?”;

“Why didn’t a team of doctors arrive at the scene on time?”;

"Why did you decide to run for re-election?"

I would like to elaborate on this group of open questions. Upon closer examination, it turns out that, unlike the previous five questions, aimed at clarifying the specific facts and circumstances of the case, the questions “why?” and "why?", clarifying the goals and causes, can be attributed to a more complex level that requires a thoughtful, conceptual answer. By their meaning, they are not easy to answer, as they encourage the interlocutor to think, to analyze and analyze the situation, to put forward versions of what happened.

By the way, "why?" - the favorite question of TV presenter Vladimir Pozner. Colleagues noted this and explained such attachment to the issue by the journalist’s heightened inquisitiveness:

“The president of the TV academy, the winner of various awards and the owner of all conceivable-unthinkable television titles, communicates with politicians and ministers with the inquisitiveness of a schoolboy. Do not hesitate to ask simple questions: “Why?” He asks again when it is not clear, and does not frown meaningfully, like most of his colleagues. This captivates the audience, tired of the terms of other television observers, who are most concerned about not looking like fools in front of venerable interlocutors, leaving us in the end as fools.

Conceptual questions "why?" and why?" useful in a situation of a hard time limit, when it is impossible to carry out serious preparation and study the materials, because they can actually be asked, being completely unprepared, as they say, “from a blank sheet”, however, at the risk of being misinformed.

But conceptual issues also have pitfalls. They are especially dangerous when a journalist is faced with people prepared to deal with the press. For such people, the question of the goals of their enterprise has long been lost, and the answer has been rehearsed. Spectacular, winning, and seemingly quotable. However, it is unlikely that such an answer will contain reliable information. The journalist should keep this in mind and be ready to continue the conversation in search of the truth.

All psychologists who train their clients to be communicatively competent insist that their clients learn to ask "open questions" and avoid "closed" questions.

As many as two extensive articles on our site are devoted to a detailed explanation (with examples) of what types of questions (in the psychology of communication) stand out and why it is important to be able to ask open-ended questions. These are the articles: “Confidential conversation: open and closed questions” and “The ability to ask questions: psychological educational program”.

Let us briefly recall what it is.

Open-ended questions are questions that require a detailed answer-the speech of the interlocutor. Open-ended questions begin with the words:

• which,
• why,
• why...

The meaning of an open question is that you give your interlocutor the opportunity to speak, to speak for a long time and in detail. This, in turn, indicates that you respect the interlocutor and give him the opportunity to express his point of view, allowing him to speak freely.

Closed questions imply short and precise answers like:

• twenty people
• on Wednesday.

Sometimes such questions and such answers are necessary, but psychologists advise to avoid their prevalence in the dialogue. Otherwise, the conversation turns into an interrogation, and your interlocutor begins to feel like a subordinate, called to the carpet.

Even if it is true... Philosophy modern management, business communication and personnel management, which is focused on equal (democratic) relations between superiors and subordinates, prescribes to build your speech etiquette so that your subordinate does not feel like a “boy” or “girl” when communicating with you. In Western countries, this is already a norm, violating which you will simply show yourself as an incompetent, illiterate leader.

Moreover, closed questions should not be allowed to prevail if you are just talking, if you are not a boss, and your interlocutor is not a subordinate, and you are not talking about work at all.

However, it is easier for us to ask closed questions, even for children and spouses. But it is very difficult for us to ask open-ended questions (and spend time listening to a whole speech), we have to relearn, learn whole speech patterns.

But those who have trained to do it naturally and masterfully, they immediately feel how their relations with others are changing for the better - these people immediately feel the benefits of such communication.

Let's look at the typical wording of both open and closed questions. These formulations (formulations of open questions) can be periodically simply memorize so that they more often fall on our tongue during spontaneous speaking.

What wording should be avoided (Closed questions)

• So you want to cancel your business trip?
• Are you more interested in working with Muscovites?
• Are you dissatisfied with my work?

What should be said instead? (Open questions)

• How can we resolve the issue with your business trip?
• Which regions would you like to work with and why?
• What do you mean when you say...
• What result would you like to see yourself?...etc.

All these are the basics that every person needs to know .. But there are also nuances.

But it is precisely the nuances, or rather, their ignorance, that lead to the fact that the technique, which seems to be performed word for word, does not work or works exactly the opposite.

Remember, please, right away - the first basic rule of open questions.

An open question should be formulated in such a way that your interlocutor WANTS to answer your question.

Psychologists-practitioners have noticed that very often their clients formulate their open-ended questions in such a way that they start to sound like:

• hidden accusation, reproach,
• "free advice"
• false interpretation of the thoughts and actions of the interlocutor,
• or in general "an unambiguous invitation to scandal".

So what's the deal?

But the fact is that in the Russian language and in the current Russian culture of speech (speech pragmatics), questions are not simple requests for information ...

we (unlike other peoples) use questions not for their intended purpose, but as hidden reproaches and accusations.

Psychologists and linguists even talk about the special status of the question in the Russian language!

In Russian speech culture, the one who asks questions is that gentleman. The right to ask questions is a privilege, it is a marker of the speaker's high status.

We even have such an expression-saying: "I ask questions here." I hope now everyone understands how the person who is addressed with questions immediately begins to feel?

Russian speech pragmatics has ruined the reputation of the interrogative sentence...

From childhood, we hear instead of:

• "Don't Take It" / "Why Did You Take It?"
• "Don't go there" / "Where did you go?"

Then, when we grow up, insulting questions begin to rain down on us like from a cornucopia:

• When will you stop being late?
• Where were you brought up?
• Why do you think that...
• Where did you take it?
• Where did you see...
• When you have learned...

All these scandalous rhetorical questions do not really require an answer. These are not open questions. But they are outwardly formulated as open, and in their structure they do not differ from them in any way.

Our people have developed an original way of dealing with such rhetorical questions, the purpose of which is to humiliate or cause a scandal.

This method is called "Turn on the Fool" or "Captain Obvious".

The one who is asked an insulting rhetorical question begins to calmly, scrupulously and pedantically (as if he is a computer) answer this question, thereby exhausting the interlocutor and leaving him no chance for an escalation of the scandal.

The most brilliant "Captain Obvious" response is still considered to be one real dialogue between an angry customer and the sales department of a certain company. I'll reproduce it in full:

• I would like to know how such deceitful managers as Andrey Rezakov work for you?
• Andrey works from Monday to Thursday, from 9 to 19. Sincerely, Sales Department.

So, if you find yourself in a situation where you are asked "open questions" that look more like an insult, there is only one recipe: the "Captain Obvious" technique.

We have dealt with this.

But what if you want to ask open-ended questions yourself and do not want to get a negative reaction from the interlocutor when your partner:

• closes in on itself
• becomes discouraged
• looking for a trick.

Just discard the following list of ambiguous dangerous-sounding open-ended questions:

• Why didn't you do it?
• Why do you think so?
• Why do not you...
• How could you...

And, finally, when asking even the most harmless open question, try your intonation and facial expression in every possible way to demonstrate to the interlocutor your disposition towards him.

Then questions like:

• And how do you imagine it?
• Why do you think it's impossible?
• How?
• What did you say to him?

They will sound like real open-ended questions, as they are supposed to sound.

Open questions imply a detailed response. They cannot be answered in monosyllables, “yes” or “no”. As a rule, they begin with questions: What? Who? How? Where? How? Why? Which?

Open questions are required to:

receive additional information from the client;

create a comfortable situation for maintaining contact;

take the first steps towards identifying needs.

Examples of open questions:

“What is important to you when buying a drill?”

“Tell me, what are your requirements for this material?”

“What is the relevance of business training for your company?”

Benefits of open questions:

encourage the interlocutor to answer without limiting him in anything;

orient a person to reflection, analysis of his actions, stimulates the birth of thoughts that may not have occurred to him before;

give the interlocutor the opportunity to voluntarily convey information, freely talk about their feelings, comment on events;

put the seller in front of the need to carefully listen and observe.

Disadvantages of open questions:

can provoke a long response, so they can not always be applied in a limited time;

able to confuse an interlocutor who is not used to answering general questions;

can cause a confused and chaotic response, difficult to understand;

conceal the need to ask clarifying questions, interrupting the interlocutor, which can offend him and lead to difficulties during the conversation.

It is good practice to ask open-ended questions:

at the beginning of negotiations;

to move from one topic to another;

if it is necessary to make the interlocutor think;

when it is necessary to find out the interests and needs of the client;

if you want to revive and strengthen the energy of the client's awareness of some phenomenon;

if you want to determine the cause of failures and doubts of the client.

All questions you ask the client should be conducive to constructive communication and be businesslike and friendly. A good question asked in a rude way will not only destroy the established contact, but can also lead to the failure of the transaction.

However, open questions give the interlocutor the opportunity to avoid a specific answer, provide only information that is beneficial to him, and even divert the conversation to the side. Therefore, in the course of a business conversation, it is recommended to ask, in addition to open questions, other questions.

Clarifying questions

Clarifying (semi-open) questions require short, concise answers. They should be asked if you are not sure about something or have doubts about whether you understood the client correctly.

Purpose of clarifying questions- restore the omitted information, find out the interlocutor's personal idea of ​​​​a certain issue, double-check what was said.

These questions are necessary to:

receive specific information;

clarify the needs of the client;

bring the client closer to the purchase (to the completion of the transaction).

Clarifying (semi-open) questions include the words:

"Do I understand correctly that…",

"Why?" - one of the best clarifying questions,

"That is, ….",

"You want to say…",

"You mean...".

Examples of clarifying (semi-open) questions:

That is, you would prefer to go to Greece. Did I understand you correctly?

Do I understand you correctly that you would like to purchase a gift for your spouse?

Please let me know how much you would like to pay. I ask this question in order to choose the best option for you.

I told you the main advantages of this model (this product, this brand). Tell me which one suits you best?

You paraphrase the client's statement and clarify whether it was understood correctly. The interlocutor will confirm or refute your doubts and may provide additional information.

Feel free to ask clarifying questions if you do not understand something or are in doubt. Believe me, the client will not think badly of you. Rather, you will give the impression of a person striving to thoroughly understand the issue and not miss important points of the conversation.

Question Types- types of questions used in the sales process, depending on the form of the question and the function performed. The questions are divided into open, closed and alternative questions. By function, questions can be clarifying, generalizing, inspiring, questions-hooks, etc.

Types of Questions by Form

1. Open-ended questions are those that do not allow a short answer "yes" or "no", requiring a detailed answer. Open-ended questions begin with interrogative words: who, what, how, when, where, why, why. For example, “How do you form the assortment of goods in your store?”, “How often do you order confectionery?”, “What soft drinks do you sell best?”, “What is most important to you in the work of a supplier?” etc.
2. Closed questions - those that allow a short answer "yes" or "no" (in English language this type of question is called Yes/No questions). For example, “Did you have a merchandiser in your store yesterday?”, “Are you interested in holding a promotion?”, “And if we give you a discount, will you take the entire range?” etc.
3. Alternative questions - allowing the choice of an answer from two or three proposed options. What distinguishes this type of question is the use or implied conjunction "or". For example, “Do you pay in cash or by bank transfer?”, “Which juice will you take, orange or pineapple?”, “How many packages do we include in the order - one, two, three?”, “What is your standard markup - twenty-five, thirty percent?” etc. Sometimes questions of this type are considered as a kind of closed questions, which is not entirely true, since the context of the use of closed and alternative questions is different.

The ability to ask different types of questions is one of the basic skills in sales. An experienced or sales manager knows how to choose the right type of question depending on the current situation in the sales process. Different types of questions have different information value:

1. Open-ended questions are used when the client needs to be drawn into communication, to talk and get as much information from him as possible. An open question pushes for a dialogue, a detailed answer with the justification of one's opinion. A client may answer an open question briefly, but this is the exception rather than the rule.
2. Closed questions are used when it is necessary to get a short and unambiguous answer from the client, “yes” or “no”. If you wish, you can get a detailed answer to a closed question, but for this the interlocutor will need to make an additional effort and overcome the context of the question, which implies a monosyllabic answer.
3. Alternative questions provide more information than closed questions, but less than open questions. To answer an alternative question, one cannot simply say “yes” or “no”, one must name the option chosen, but it is not necessary to justify one’s choice. If the client wants to state the reasons for his choice, this will be his personal initiative.

Accordingly, open-ended questions are used at the beginning of communication with the client, for example, at the stage and analysis of needs. In particular, used at the stage of establishing contact, the form is open-ended questions. On the contrary, by the end of the sale, there is a growing proportion of closed questions that are asked, for example, in order to clarify details.

Similarly, the needs analysis phase first uses open-ended questions to provide a preliminary understanding of the client's situation, then closed-type questions to clarify information and confirm the correct understanding of the needs and requirements of the client.

In addition, different types of questions exert different degrees of psychological pressure on the client:

1. Open-ended questions have the least pressure on the respondent, they only define the topic of the conversation and do not set any framework for the answer. The respondent is free to decide what and to what extent he will answer.
2. Closed questions provide a high degree pressure on the respondent, forcing him to move from an opinion to a decision: “yes” or “no”.
3. Alternative questions also put the answerer in front of the need for a solution, but give him space to choose a solution. In this sense, alternative questions give the respondent a higher psychological security than closed questions.

Thus, choosing the type of question, the questioner chooses the degree of psychological pressure that he will exert on the respondent. For example, this is important when choosing a deal:

• when communicating with a client who has demonstrated a clear purchase, you can use questions that are closed in form to complete the transaction,
• when communicating with a client who has a generally positive attitude towards the proposal, but there are still minor doubts and hesitations, it is better to use questions that are alternative in form to complete the transaction,
• when communicating with a client who has not yet clearly expressed his attitude to the proposal, it is preferable to use questions that are open in form to complete the transaction.

As you know, the initiative in the conversation belongs to the one who asks questions. Questions of any form allow you to keep the initiative in your hands. However, the risks of losing the initiative are different: when using closed and alternative questions, the initiative is retained more tightly. When answering an open question, the client receives a higher degree of freedom, respectively, there are risks of intercepting the initiative.

Thus, open, closed and alternative questions differ in three parameters: informational value, the degree of psychological pressure exerted on the interlocutor, and the degree of retention of the initiative in communication.

Types of questions by function

informal interpersonal communication can be carried out without clearly defined goals, "just like that." In contrast, business communication (including sales) always has clear goals and a plan of action. Therefore, every question business communication performs a certain function, helps to achieve the goal.

The selection of types of questions according to their functions is due to the techniques and methods in which these questions are used. For example, general and focused questions are distinguished in a number of techniques, there are concretizing questions in a number of techniques, four types of questions are used in sales techniques depending on their function (situational, problematic, extracting, suggestive), etc.

Consider three types of questions and how to formulate them.
Open questions should be formulated in such a way that the partner would like to answer them. These questions require a detailed answer.
Start your question with:
What? How? Why? How? Under what conditions?
Example:
What facts (conditions, benefits) should we pay attention to?
What should be done to change the situation?
What result would be acceptable to you?
How could we formulate our task?
What do you mean when you talk about...
If you take this position, what will be your first actions?

Closed questions suggest an unambiguous answer (for example, a message of the exact date, name, indication of the amount of something) or a “yes” or “no” answer. These are hypotheses, ready-made assumptions that only need to be confirmed or refuted. It is better to replace hypotheses with open-ended questions that allow the partner to give his version.
When is the project deadline?
How many people are in your group?
Do you want to quit your job?
Are you most interested in the work schedule?

Alternative questions occupy an intermediate position, their wording contains options for answers, but, in essence, these are also hypotheses, just an alternative question contains several hypotheses.
And all these hypotheses may be wrong.
Do you prefer to perceive information by ear, visually or in combination?
Do you prefer me to answer you by phone or email?