open-ended questions
Invitations to elaborate
Open-ended questions invite extended responses rather than yes-or-no answers.
They typically begin with how, why, or what: What made you decide to move here?
Teachers, interviewers, and therapists use open-ended questions to encourage elaboration and deeper engagement.
The opposite is a closed-ended or yes-no question.
- clarifyingMaking something understandable
- tell me morePrompt for details
- elicitingDrawing out responses
- active listeningFocused, responsive attention to speech
- paraphrasingRestating in new words
trust-building · probing · empathy · safe space · interviews · Socratic method · focus groups · prompting · divergent thinking · counseling sessions · open dialogue · interrogatives · reflective listening · brainstorming · thinking out loud · scaffolding · surveys · reflecting
- surveyspoll, polls, survey, surveys, questionnaire
- questioningclosed questions, clarifying questions, leading questions, follow-up questions, rhetorical questions
- clinical interviewspsychiatric evaluation, psychiatric history, clinical assessment, mental health assessment, patient history
- counseling skillsactive listening, rapport building, paraphrasing, reflective listening, empathy
- forensic interviewsforensic interview, witness interview, witness interviews, interview room, interrogation
- communicationtelephone, conversation, inform, hand signal, messages
open-ended questionsyes/no questions
Inquiries permitting two responses
multiple-choice · closed questions · matching questions · fill-in-the-blank