Close-Ended, Open-Ended and Probing Questions

Over the past week or so we have been discussing the use of close-ended, open-ended and probing questions. So lets recap:

Close-ended questions: These questions are questions that can be answered with only one word. That is not to say that they have to answered in one word, only that the interviewee can answer it in one word and have that answer make sense. For example, if I were to ask someone if they liked the Yankees, they could respond with one word: yes. I did not ask them to elaborate at all.

Open-ended questions: These questions, unlike close-ended questions, ask the interviewee to elaborate (and you cannot answer them with only one word). After you ask the person if they like the Yankees, you might follow that with: Why do you like the Yankees? Instead of a yes or no response, the interviewer has to explain why.

Probing questions: These are the kind of questions that you cannot make before an interview. Probing questions, like open-ended questions, ask the interviewee to elaborate on something they previously said. Say, for example, the interviewee said in answer to the previous open-ended question, that they really like the Yankees work ethic. A probing question might then be something like: What do you mean by work ethic?

Probing questions make the interviewee explain their opinions. Remember, you need to get as much information from this interview as possible and probing questions will help to make that possible.

The basic setup for an interview is as follows:

Close-ended question
Open-ended question
Probe

Close-ended question
Open-ended question
Probe

Close-ended question
Open-ended question
Probe

You might not be able to probe every response, just as you might not start with a close-ended question, so you need to stay flexible and “role with the punches.”