Facilitation Preparation Skill One

Asking Engaging Questions and Following Up

Questions are especially important for the facilitators in DLC sessions with lab groups, as the goal of the discussion is for the participants to talk among themselves with the topic of the session with the benefit of a neutral facilitator. Questions accompanied by good listening (see the next topic) can demonstrate your engagement and interest in the participants, which will help increase their engagement and interest.

Engaging questions help elicit useful, previously unknown information. They are meant to help participants recognize that they are being heard and invite deeper reflection. Asking follow-up questions, especially if discussion lags, or you sense there is information that isn’t surfacing, can be central to a strong discussion.

Keeping the dialogue going

You may find that one of your primary jobs as a facilitator—and one of the most challenging things to instill in your participants—is to help the group stay focused and continue the discussion.  One effective way to sidestep these barriers and keep the conversation going is through asking engaging questions.

For example, if the dialogue is coming to a lull, consider asking something like the following: 

• Is there a different way we should be looking at this? 
• Can you think of any examples of [topic] from any current or past projects? 
• Have you encountered anything unexpected with respect to [topic]?

Unearthing unanticipated insights

As you help your participants reflect on your shared topic and purpose, ^[2] you may find that asking questions that seem obvious can help people to think about things in a new way.

For example, you might consider asking some clarifying questions:

• Just to make sure I understood you, are you saying that…?
• When you say [topic], do you mean that…?
• Does everyone feel the same way as [person]? Does anyone feel differently/have different experiences that might offer a different take

One specific way you can unearth unanticipated insight is by having individuals explain and justify their reasoning for their stance on a given issue, their opinions about the process of doing research, etc. Such questions are a core feature of deliberative communication. You may find that people lack a clear understanding of why they’re doing what they’re doing, and having the opportunity to justify their reasoning may provide clarity on that point, not only for the group, but also for the individual themselves.

For example, you might ask questions like this:

• How do you know that's the best way to do ____?
• What's your reason for doing that/thinking that/asking for that/etc.?
• I’m curious about your perspective on this. Could you explain your reasoning for that?

Demonstrating engagement and interest

Sometimes people may hold back on participating because they wonder if their contributions are actually important and needed. A central part of the facilitator role is to do your best to help every participant engage and for the dialogue to be open.

For example, if some of the participants appear to be distracted, confused, or disengaged, consider asking a question similar to the following:

• [Person], I’m curious to hear your perspective on this as a [role-based description; ex. fourth-year doctoral student]. What has been your experience with [topic]?
• [Person], you appear to be deep in thought. What’s on your mind?
• As I’ve listened to you all, I’ve noticed that [insight from the conversation; ex. you are focusing a lot on positive outcomes], which I find interesting. I’m also curious about [extension of that insight; ex. any potentially negative outcomes] related to [topic]; what thoughts, if any, do you have about this?

One particularly useful facilitation technique is called “stacking”, where, upon encountering an important or potentially divisive topic, the facilitator asks for others to weigh in on the topic before moving to the next one. ^[2]

• Follow-up questions can be particularly useful, asking for a person to clarify what was just said or gently probing to get further insights: ^[2]
  • You just mentioned [subject] in reference to [topic]. Is that important to you, and if so, why? 
  • Can you think of any drawbacks of what you just said? 
  • This is fascinating; could you elaborate a bit more? 
• Sometimes, you hear something that reminds you of what was said before—or not said. A “reaction” question helps you respond to what you have noticed: 
  • What do the rest of you think about what was just said? 
  • This seems important, let’s focus on this for a moment more. What other thoughts are relevant to this topic? 
  • What you said reminded me of earlier in our conversation, where [person] said…is that a fair observation? Could you elaborate a bit on this?