Soft Skills
The trainer’s most
BY DR BARRY CUMMINGS
This month's magazine raises questions about the most important tools in the trainer's toolkit. Despite all the technology and hardware that is available to modern trainers, one of the most powerful tools to support learning has been available since language developed. What is it? The great question.
The most effective trainers know how to use questions as a primary means of stimulating learning. Yet how many really think about the purpose, structure and timing of the questions they use?
Trainers are almost certainly aware of simple question classification, knowing how to use open questions to encourage divergent thinking and generate ideas and closed questions to confirm understanding and test retention. They probably recognise the value of hypothetical questions and the provocative, 'Devil's advocate' questions that can be used to trigger individual emotional or intellectual responses. Those trained in coaching skills know the power of a structured series of questions that 'move' a learner in to new ways of thinking and future planning.
In this article I'd like to suggest a simple model based around 4 different types of question. I believe this categorisation of questions is a versatile tool in individual, team and organisational development, strategy development and planning, creative problem solving and innovation. The questions represent a holistic approach and relate to different types of thinking that serve different purposes.
1. The first set of questions is critical and evaluative. These questions are used to analyse and test and they focus on reason and logic. They are perfect when analysing problems, building structured arguments, justifying decisions and searching for evidence.
They identify cause and effect, ensure that there is clarity of purpose and measure success. Examples of such questions include, “What is the underlying problem that we are trying to address?” or “Why does this always happen during this phase of the project?” or “What are the arguments in favour of this specific course of action?”
2. The second set of questions is imaginative, experimental and expansive. They are used to build visions, imagine things that haven’t yet happened and seek out new possibilities. They encourage novelty and challenge convention. These are the “What if….?” type of questions. “What would happen if we removed all these constraints?” or “What is the best outcome we can imagine?” or “What new connections can you see between this idea and other innovative ideas?”
3. The third set of questions address beliefs, values, feelings and emotion. They build empathy and understanding and establish what is important to people in different contexts. These questions can open deeper levels of communication, strengthen inter-personal relationships and build trust. At a simple level this might be, “How do you feel about that?” or “Can you imagine how Sam is feeling right now?” At a more complex level it might be, “What is really important to you about how this team works together?” or “ How do you anticipate people will react when we announce this change?”
4. The final set of questions includes those that are practical, pragmatic and direct. They are the ‘who, when, what’, ‘how much’ questions that focus on the actions, responsibilities, schedules and measurements that are vital to action planning and the implementation of systems and procedures. “So what, precisely are we going to do? When will that begin and how long will it take? What is the total budget?”
20 | TRAINING MAGAZINE EUROPE APRIL 2015
VERSATILE TOOL
BY ANN ALDER