The Devil is in the Wording: Good vs Bad Questions

September 17, 2020

Theoretical Foundations

Per Kristiansen

The purpose of the coffee chat is a presentation on good vs. bad questions, reflection round, and open dialogue. Per emphasized the importance of facilitation and asking questions with multiple right answers, as well as making the question emotionally appealing and using exploration questions to delve deeper into a specific topic. He also discusses the difference between consulting/teaching/training and facilitation, where the latter involves starting with a question and suspending any opinion about the answer to explore and unlock potential knowledge within the participants. Per emphasizes the importance of allowing the ""what"" (knowledge) to inspire questions, but not assuming what participants need to know to solve a task, in order to unlock their potential. He also discusses the principle of asking questions with multiple right answers and avoiding questions with a single right answer or where someone has the right to assume they know the answer. Per explains the importance of having a threshold and ceiling in questions, as well as using scaffolding to help participants enter and understand the question. Per emphasizes the importance of making the question emotionally appealing and worthwhile for participants and compares successful questions to small Indiana Jones moments. He explains the concept of exploration questions and how they can be used in a second round to delve deeper into a specific topic or area of confusion.