To be, or not to be: that is the question
~William Shakespeare
Powerful questions can be used in coaching, self-reflection, leadership development, team collaboration, and even critical thinking. Often one question can be enough to ignite an illuminating conversation ending in the all powerful ‘ah ha’ moment of a client or team mate. Below is a collection of 30 questions I have used over the years in coaching, consulting, self-reflection, and in a collaborative team setting. If these inspire critical thinking on your part, then I can enjoy the knowledge that I can inspire from a distance. If these questions inspire more questions, please let me know by leaving a comment.
- Is that true?
- How do you know that?
- What data is that claim based on?
- What do others say that support your/my argument?
- What evidence would you give to someone who doubted your interpretation?
- Can you put that another way?
- What’s a good example of what you are talking about?
- What do you mean by that?
- Can you explain the term you just used?
- How do you think the other person views the situation?
- You have only two years to live and will do so with your usual energy and vitality. What will you do with your last two years?
- What are you not telling me that I need to know?
- You just won a $100 million lottery jackpot. What will you do with the rest of your life
- What is your life like 1 year from now?
- Describe the context of your situation
- What is keeping you busy these days
- What is keeping you up at night?
- When was the last time you lost track of time? what were you doing at that time?
- What are you doing now to shape your life of tomorrow?
- What can you stop doing to make room for change?
- What are you holding on to that no longer serves you?
- What assumptions are you making in this situation?
- What do you want? what do you need?
- Is there an easier way?
- What is within your power to change?
- What do you want the outcome to be in this situation?
- What needs to change?
- Am I judging based on my own values or theirs?
- What is the point of view of the person sitting across the table?
- Is what I’m about to say helping to achieve our/me goal? Does it add value?
What powerful questions do you use? Which of these 30 is your favorite?