Starting Maintaining Conversations Openended questions Open ended questions

Starting & Maintaining Conversations Open-ended questions

Open ended questions ask for more information. They are useful in situations where you want to keep the conversation going and when you want to learn more about the other person.

How will your conversation be different if you use the following closed questions compared to the open questions? Did you like …? vs. What did you think about …? Do you know anything about …? vs. What do you know about …?

Some Examples of open-ended questions How did you find the presentation? (opinion) What is your thinking on …? (opinion) How do / did you feel about …? (opinion) What did you think about …? (opinion) What do you know about …? (information)

How do you know …? (personal information) How do / did you find …? (opinion or info) How long have you been …? (personal info) What brought you to …? (Why are you here? ) What did you think of the last …? (opinion) What do you know about …? (information) What do you think of the … so far? (opinion) What’s your hunch about …? (opinion)

Where did you hear (or read) about …? (information) Can you give me an example of …? (clarity / explanation) Would you tell me more about …? (information)

Taking Leave after Small Talk It’s been a pleasure talking with you. It’s been really nice talking to you. Well, nice meeting you again. We really must get together sometime. Give me a call sometime. Have you met …?