Once, working with a group of subject matter experts (SMEs), I asked a very straightforward question: “How can we improve customer service?” They stared at me like I had just spoken a foreign language! The problem is that often, the typical open-ended, logical, straightforward question does not result in the robust, focused, productive dialogue we want. For better results, try asking a facilitative question.
Facilitative questions, by definition, make it easy for people to answer to the question. Something like this…
“Imagine that we have a panel of customers here to give us feedback on their experience with our service. What would they say are the top 3 things we could do better that would most improve their experience with us?”
You will be surprised how much richer the discussion becomes. Here are the three basic elements of a facilitative question:
- Invite people to visualize (e.g. imagine that, suppose that, what if, etc.)
- Provide a scenario to make it easy for participants to ‘see’ the answer to the question (e.g. we have a panel of customers…)
- Ask a typical open-ended but focused question (e.g. what would they say…)
Facilitative questions work, and they require practice. So, why not start now! Try it at your next meeting or discussion and share your experience with us.
p.s. when I rephrased my question with these SMEs the floodgates opened. It was amazing! Give it a try today.
