A short introduction to the art of asking questions in Appreciative Inquiry

1. Appreciative Inquiry Community International
Questions that makes a difference in
Appreciative Inquiry
Open – Closed Questions
Open questions let the focus person decide what to say. Closed questions let the focus person answer yes
or no. Open questions are the mostly important in coaching because they open for an inner dialogue for
the focus person.
Categorizing Questions
One way to categorize questions is to look at the intention the assumptions behind the question. The
interviewer can have to types of intentions: 1) to collect information and 2) to create an impact. The
interviewer can use two different kinds of assumptions: 1) Simple Assumptions where there is a simple
connection between cause and effect and 2) Complex Assumptions where the connections are hard to
describe in simple terms. This can be illustrated in this way.
Exploratory Questions (simple assumptions – collecting information)
These questions mostly create a more stable understanding of what happened and then there is no change
in the focus person’s inner dialogue about the situation. They can be used for setting the context and the
contract for the coaching session.
Created by af Kaj Voetmann
2012 – Version 1 1

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Context Contract
 Who did what?  What do you want to be able to do?
 Where did it take place?  Where do you want to make it happen?
 What is it all about?  Who is involved in the situatioon and how
 When did it happen? do they need to respond for you to achieve
what you want?
 When will you be doing it?
Circular Questions (complex assumptions – collecting information)
These questions are designed to create a more complex inner dialogue about what happened or will
happen. They start changing the inner dialogue away from the fixed understanding of things by opening for
new interpretations of the situation.
 When your colleague does this, how does this make you feel or react?
 Who of your colleagues agrees mostly with your managers ideas?
 If you were your manager how would you feel and thing when you don’t follow her advice or order?
 What are the normal pattern you follow when you manager tells you what to do?
Reflective Questions (complex assumptions – creating an impact)
These questions are designed to change the inner dialogue in order to begin to find a more useful inner
dialogue – in the sense that it can make the focus person think and talk about the challenge in new ways
and find her own solution to the challenge.
 What are the consequences of continuing doing things like you have been doing so far?
 What will be the consequences of doing …. instead of what you usually do?
 What would be the worst that could happen if you change your behaviour?
 If you chose to do the opposite of what you usually do, what would happen?
 What are your fears and hopes for the future in this situation?
 How can you explain that your manager always do this? What is the positive intention your manager is
following?
 How would life look like if the problem did not exist?
 How could you use humour to change the situation?
 You feel insecure in this situation – is it like the insecurity of meeting a new person or like the insecurity
of being at an examination or …..? (Reframing)
 The anger seems to have taken away all your normal intelligence, is this normal for you to be taken
over by your anger? (Externalisation)
Generative Questions (complex assumptions – asking for the real intention in the situation)
These questions are designed to help achieve the intention and purpose of the focus person by asking very
open reflective question to the intention and purpose – not to steps on the way to realizing it. Often we ask
for specific things instead of giving the focus person the very open inner dialogue needed to find their own
solutions.
 You said you wanted to increase your quality of work life. What are you doing today that makes your
quality of work life better or bearable?
Created by af Kaj Voetmann
2012 – Version 1 2

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 What are the circumstances you have created for yourself that make it possible for you to achieve your
dream of giving a superb service to your clients?
 What are your best experiences with helping others to improve their skills or performance?
 If you had a magic wand like Harry Potter how would you change the services of your company?
 If a miracle happened what would change even beyond the things you created by using your magic
wand?
 If God was here what would he have to contribute in order to make all this happen?
Storytelling and questions can be combined here:
“Once upon a time there was an employee at the World Bank that had to go to a meeting with the Minister
of Health in Ghana about how to treat Malaria. He did not know anything about this so he wrote an e-mail
asking for help and sent it to all World Bank employees all over the world. The next day he went to the
minister with seven different suggestions with the estimated effects and costs of each of the approaches.
What would happen if everybody in your company put their knowledge at your disposal like this?”
The story is used to tell what could be possible and the question creates an inner dialogue about the
possibilities that would open if this story was part of the focus person’s life.
Strategic Questions or Statements (linear assumptions – creating an impact)
These questions are designed to make the focus person commit to some kind of actions.
 If you were a consultant for yourself, what would you do in this situation?
 Based on the coaching session which options to you think you have now?
 Which of these options to you think would make it easy for you to achieve what you want?
 What do you want to try out until the next time we meet?
 How are you going to make sure you will do this?
 What kind of changes in your life do you need to make to be able to do these things until we meet
again?
Created by af Kaj Voetmann
2012 – Version 1 3