2 Key Tips for Effective Questioning in Interviews

Have you ever experienced an awkward interview situation, a stressful performance review meeting or endless small talks? By simply changing the way you ask questions, you can significantly improve your communication effectiveness and make conversations flow more smoothly. Whether you are a HR manager, lecturer or consultant, there are plenty of opportunities to ask questions in your daily work.

My biggest fear is receiving non-straightforward answers that make conversations even more difficult and ultimately less effective. The longer the conversation goes on, the less clear the purpose of the conversation becomes. Today I want to share with you how I address this issue.

If you are looking to learn about this topic, check out this post from Aniday!

Situation 1: Awkward interview question

When I interview engineers, I often ask them at the end: "Do you have any other questions?" At this point, the candidate often answers "yes" but doesn't say anything further. I was expecting them to continue asking, but it seems like they were waiting for me to offer first.

Situation 2: Tension during a stressful performance review meeting

Similar situations can also occur in the workplace environment:

• Manager: What will you do to improve your performance this time?

• Employee: I will try my best.

• Manager: I don't want to hear that, I want to know specifically what you will do!

• Employee: (Thinking inwardly) I've already answered, what else do you want me to say?

Situation 3: Deadlock in casual conversation

Similar situations can also occur in daily casual conversations.

• Colleague A: Wow, you look thinner, how did you lose weight?

• Colleague B: No, I'm just heartbroken.

• Colleague A: (Shaking his head inwardly) Why did he answer like this?

If you have experienced these situations, I want to share one important thing with you: the purpose of the question must match the way it is asked. Here are two solutions:

Solution 1: Avoid using "yes or no" questions

I have interviewed over 600 engineers in a year, and I realized that the awkward situations were not due to the candidate's communication or understanding abilities, but how I asked the question. I was clearly asking a yes/no question, but I expected the candidate to provide an answer beyond those two choices. Perhaps due to Vietnamese cultural traditions where we tend to be reluctant to openly share information.

Therefore, in daily communication questions, we often use "yes or no" questions. However, these questions are not suitable for collecting detailed information.

Solution 2: Avoid using "how" questions

When asking questions, you should try not to use "how" and instead use "what". For example:

• What will you do to improve your performance this time? → What specific things will you do to improve your performance this time?

• How did you lose weight? → What specific things did you do to lose weight?

Because "how" is an open question, it is more suitable for casual conversations. If you want a specific answer, use "what" instead. This will help narrow the scope of the other person's response and avoid answers like "because I was heartbroken" or "I will try my best".

People often use sounds and texts to improve their communication skills. Only when your communication skills are correct and effective can others listen well. If your way of communicating is inaccurate or unclear, it is not the fault of others' understanding abilities.

Asking questions is a never-ending skill. Asking questions in daily life, asking questions in groups, and asking questions in meetings and discussions is an art. Be careful not only about the structure of questions you use but also about the person you are talking to.

You need to think about what factors may prevent others from being able or willing to answer you. Considering these factors will make your conversations more effective. I hope this post from Aniday is useful for you.