A form of disciplined questioning used to explore complex ideas, get to the truth of things, uncover assumptions, and analyze concepts
Six Types
- Clarification
- Probing Assumptions
- Probing Reasons/Evidence
- Questioning Viewpoints
- Probing Implications
- Questions about Questions
EXAMPLE
Starting Question: “Is democracy good?” Clarification: “What do you mean by ‘good’?” Assumption Probe: “Why do you assume majority rule is fair?” Evidence: “What examples support this?”
Key Principles
- No leading questions
- Open-ended inquiry
- Systematic progression
- Focus on reasoning
Question Templates
Clarification Questions
- What do you mean by…?
- Could you explain that further?
- Can you give me an example?
- How does this relate to what we’re discussing?
Assumption Questions
- What are you assuming here?
- Is this always the case?
- How did you come to this conclusion?
- What else could we assume?
Evidence Questions
- What evidence supports this?
- How can we verify this?
- What are the sources?
- What are the counter-arguments?
Perspective Questions
- What alternative ways are there to look at this?
- How would different groups see this issue?
- What would someone who disagrees say?
- How could we look at this differently?
Implication Questions
- What are the consequences of this?
- How does this affect…?
- What are the long-term effects?
- What if you’re wrong about this?
Meta Questions
- Why is this question important?
- How can we find out?
- What does this question assume?
- How could we phrase this better?**
Applications
Avoid:
- Leading questions
- Rhetorical questions
- Yes/no questions