Spoken English for corporate jobs (Probing question)

 

Probing questions

Probing questions are the questions which force the respondent to think more deeply about  the information of which they recall for their answer in corporate sector.

A probing question gives deep thought and  detailed responses. By asking  a probing  question, you encourage the receiver to explore their  personal feelings and  ideas about a specific topic. And also , one should concentrate on what is being said.

 

Use of probing questions.  Probing questions  will  be  asked not only to clarify information but also to check  on  the receiver’s understanding. Anytime we can ask probing question to get more detailed information about what someone thinks. At workplace we should never make assumptions about prospects  but some information about them will help us to work out a questioning strategy for the most effective use of our time.

 

There are two different ways of asking questions.   Close-ended  & Open-ended.

 

• Closed-ended questions are questions which require a short answer, often one word and chosen from a limited set of possible answer. Example: "yes" or "no" questions  or MCQ’
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• Open-ended questions cannot be answer with one word, which requires detailed explanation.        Open question allows for much longer responses.  Usually questions begin with       : what,   why, how, tell me,  describe etc.
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For these situations, you would use a clarifying question to get information.

 

•   To understand whether the presentation was successful or not.
•   If you feel employees finding difficulty in understanding the topic.
•   While giving training , to know listeners knowledge.
•   Mentoring an employee and planning in  an upcoming project.
•   While your discussing about cross –cultures
•   When speaking with someone and you feel they are omitting  details.
•   During a brainstorming session to encourage critical and creative thinking and problem-solving for    new ideas.
•   To assess clients’ needs and understand their organization's vision
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Questions are a powerful way of:

  Way of Learning: Asking  open,  closed questions and probing  questioning makes other person active   listener and it   promote critical thinking.

 

  Strengthen the Relationship: people generally respond positively  if you  ask about what they do or enquire about their opinions. Positive    relationship is an integral part of career    success. Through questions you will learn more about co-workers and encourage open communication.

 

  Avoiding misunderstandings: Use probing questions to  ask  clarification, information. Get detailed information  about  the employees  through  questions.  Once  questions being    asked, actively   listen  their response. Asking questions is an effective way for communication. Assumption and misunderstanding are common at workplace. By asking Question we can get clarification and avoid misunderstanding.

 

  Make the situation calm: By  using funnel questions , we can make an angry customer calm.               These types of  questions distract them from their emotions. Which is often enough to make them feel that they have "won“ something, and no longer need to be  angry.

 

 Coax (persuade) the customer: No  one likes to be lectured but   asking   a series of open questions will help others   to embrace  the reasons  behind  your  point of view.