Open-Ended Questions - Tools for Engagement

  What a pleasant surprise to show up at a recent Minnesota Coaches Association meeting and see that my deck of Q? Basics, was part of the program.  The presenters greeted attendees at the door with a basket of the open-ended questions and we were each invited to draw a random card.

The question I drew was “What toll is this taking?” It never fails to amaze me that the mind immediately goes in search of an answer. Even with no context provided, I knew immediately what the question pointed to in my life. This is the power of open-ended questions.

The meeting focused on the core coaching competencies of trust, intimacy and presence. The presenters, Elaine Gaston and Paula Hemming, both masterful coaches offered demo coaching. Later we all broke into dyads to practice the coaching skills demonstrated.

So where did the Q? Basics fit in? The question we each drew from the basket helped us reflect on some aspect of our lives that was coach worthy – a great way to prime the pump for a demo client. This also made the dyad coaching more powerful.

This points to three great ways to use Q? Basics, Open-ended Questions for Coaching Mastery.

1. Invite attendees at an event, conference or expo (especially if you have a booth) to randomly draw a question as a way to engage them in a coaching conversation.
2. Draw a question randomly when a client shows up for a session and doesn’t know what they want to focus on.
3. Use as a journal prompt, for yourself or as an exercise in a workshop.

So, just for fun – here is a random question for you to play with;

“What do you know to be true right now?”

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I knew immediately what the question pointed to in my life.

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Great! That is the wonderful nature of open ended questions, they get us looking for an answer. Can you say more about what the question opened up for you?

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