Before I realized what I was doing
wrong, this happened to me all too often. Whether you are interviewing a new
employee candidate, a potential client in real estate, a service provider
professional or your children, the type of questions you ask will determine the
answers you get.
Early on in my career I learned there
is a simple solution to this problem. The key to a successful interview is not
to ask “yes or no” questions. Simple, but listen to yourself the next time you
interview someone.
If you ask only yes or no questions you
will only get yes or no answers. When I am on the other side of the table I
have been taught not to provide too much information and I love yes and no
questions. All I have to do is answer the question and I have provided the
interviewer with exactly what he asked, albeit not what he may have wanted.
Never ask a yes and no question, always
ask for more information, opinions, descriptions, explanations, etc.
Let’s look at some examples:
A. Have you ever been terminated or
laid off from a job?
B. Explain why you left your last 3
places of employment?
A. Do you want to sell your house?
B. Why do you want to sell your house?
A. Did you see the accident occur?
B. What did you see happen?
A. Can you cut down the tree in my
yard?
B. How would you cut down this tree
hanging over my house?
A. Did you kick your brother?
B. Why did you kick you brother?
Even though these are simple examples
you can see where in each case the “B” question will provide you with a better
picture and more information from which you can form an opinion.
Yes this is a simple solution but as I
said earlier listen to the questions you ask and I believe you will be amazed
at how many are yes and no questions. I still have to watch myself to avoid
this trap and practice it every day. When I do it right it makes my job a lot
easier and successful.
