Challenging with questions
Forcing questions should be used to challenge participants to think more deeply on the issues
and opinions they hold or when you want a participant to be specific.
They should be used with respect and trust. Forcing questions can be used for these 5 purposes:
to stop overgeneralizing
to be more specific about the “what”
to be more specific about the “how”
to have the group review and rethink their assumptions with other ways of thinking or
performing
? to obtain a specific comparison
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Encouraging and fielding questions and answers
Encouraging questions, challenge, and listening
Questions should be received in a positive way. Thank the group for asking and try to use their
own words or phrases when providing a response. It is a good idea to comment on participants’
answers but not to repeat them in order to foster active
listening in the group.
Fielding questions
When questions are misunderstood: ask the person
for confirmation of what you understood, but try to avoid
problems by listening effectively.
To handle “off the wall” questions: relay them to the
group or park them to deal with them later.
To maintain your integrity: acknowledge when you do not have an answer; do not make it up.
It is important to act nondefensively when answering a question or your credibility and influence
on the group can be lost.
Fielding answers
Handling wrong answers: do not evaluate participants’ input. Thank them, ask someone else for
the right answer or give it yourself. Wrong answers can be corrected with humor if there is rapport
with the group or using some other strategies like “feel, felt, found” (see Klatt, 1999, p.423).
Recognizing nonanswers: when participants do not really provide a direct answer and
downplay it by using restricted meaning or an answer at a lower level than that asked for in the
question.
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