Facilitation through Questioning

We touched on this a bit last week: Facilitating a discussion by using questions.
How does one go about it?
It is an interesting concept, because you have to listen to the response without thinking about the next question you want to ask. In other words, to truly facilitate through questioning, you have to be willing to let the discussion take you to your next question, while remaining in control of the discussion.
As a simplified example, you might ask, “How did you get here today?” They might say they came by bus or car. Then you might ask, “What kind of car?” When they reply, you could ask “How long have you had this car?”, and so on. Each question digs a bit deeper to help you better understand the thought behind their response.
This is a strategy we — and many of you have used — as you facilitate a discussion or training session. When you ask questions, it is important to allowing a minute or two to make sure everyone is participating. I don’t mean every single person in the session, but you definitely want a sampling of one or two before you move on to the next item, so the session doesn’t go over time.
BEFORE YOU GO:
We see our blogs as opportunities for dialogue. Please share your thoughts as comments.
Think about what would you do to ensure that your discussions with your audiences are being facilitated by asking questions? What questions would you ask, What questions would you follow up on?
What other tools have you used to keep the conversation going?
When do you decide to stop the point and move too the next point?
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Faris Alami is Founder and CEO of International Strategic Management, Inc. (ISM). He works internationally, presenting Exploring Entrepreneurship Workshops and other entrepreneurial ecosystem — related ventures.
