Ask, Not Tell

I spot an interesting analogy about question type raised in the book – Six Thinking Hats by Edward de Bono (though this book is not about questioning skills).

Questions are divided into 2 types. There is a fishing question, which is exploratory (like putting bait on a hook but not knowing quite what might turn up). There is a shooting question, which is used to check out a point and which has a direct yes or not answer (like aiming at a bird and hitting or missing).

When I read the above, I think of the difference between facilitators and trainers. I map them into the different questions which facilitators and trainers will ask respectively. The facilitators tend to ask fishing question. As they question, they do not have the answer in their mind at all. Anything can come up. On the other hand, the trainers tend to ask shooting question. They ask questions to convey the training content. They are targeting at something. They may however not simply ask a direct yes or no question like described by de Bono.

Interestingly, the Fishing Question and Shooting Question help to distinguish the facilitator and trainer role.

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Should I be the Trainer or Facilitator?

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More about Trainer vs Facilitator

I always want to dig deeper the reasons why questioning is powerful. I find one of the reasons in the book – Six Thinking Hats by Edward de Bono. I am reading the chapter on the green thinking hat – the creative hat. Let me highlight the relevant paragraph:

“… The “expectation” aspect is also very important. People are very good at doing what is expected of them. People are good at playing the “game” which they perceive to be in progress. The result is that people who have never thought of themselves as creative start making a creative effort. Their confidence increases and soon they are as creative as anyone else….”

I agree on the claim that people are very good at doing what is expected of them. This logic works at home, school and work. An expectation given simply by another person is powerful. It is like an anchor. The same logic applies to questioning. When one is asked a question, he / she is given an expectation. He / she is compelled to think.

In the training setting, whenever the trainers ask questions, they fire away expectation which influences the learners!

I was having a drink with an external facilitator the other day.  He raised an interesting difference between facilitators and trainers.   Let me share here by putting into context of this blog – “Ask, Not Tell”.

Both the good trainers and the good facilitators ask lots of questions when they are in action.   Here comes the difference – the trainers are asking to get the answers they expect i.e. they will stop when they hear their expected answer.  On the other hand, the facilitators do not have expected answer.    When they ask questions, they genuinely want the answers from the participants. 

I find this description highlights very well the difference between these 2 roles.   Trainers are there to deliver some content whilst facilitators are there to facilitate the process.

Related post:

Should I be the ‘trainer’ or ‘facilitator’?

Presenter vs Trainer vs Facilitator

I have a few overseas colleagues coming first time to China to deliver a management skills class last month. They sent us an email containing a few questions. There was one about how to make Chinese learners to speak up in class. This question made me recall my first experience in delivering to a group of non-Chinese participants. This was Dubai in 2006. Participants were mostly from India and Pakistan. It is THE occasion when I realize how reserved Chinese participants are in class! More about the Dubai experience in my previous post – ‘Sorry, I don’t quite understand what you want us to do’.

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