Any Questions?

Through some of the courses that I have been taking and much of the reading that I have been doing for mediation, every person has stressed the importance of asking good questions. Essentially, this is the mediators major job; asking the right questions at the right time. By diving into books and courses I've really seen the importance of asking good questions and encouraging active listening, both of myself and others.

I've really come to notice that this practice of active listening and asking quality questions is a waste if I only use it within mediations. This practice can be extremely useful in our everyday lives. For example, I work as a support worker giving support to one individual so one thing I've been trying to do is to ask him good questions that makes him not only feel in control of the outcome, but also empowers him to realize how smart he actually is. This can also be relevant in our personal relationships with friends, family, spouses, etc. By actively listening to others and asking them good questions we are showing better interest in what they are talking about and helping us realize what is important to them and to be able to understand them better.

Leading questions make this process difficult because we will only asks questions that lead them in a certain direction. However, if we ask open questions then the other person feels more in control about where the conversation goes and enables them to control the conversation and explore themselves in a deeper, more meaningful way.

I could go on and on about this subject but I'll leave it at this...People have the capabilities and strengths within them to solve problems, sometimes they just need the right question to be asked of them to see what the answer is to that problem.