LEADING A DISCUSSION · B2–C1 · 50 min

Questions That Make People Think

Asking, waiting, and answering wrong answers — the language of leading a room in English.

Today: you'll learn to lead a discussion in English — to ask questions that make people think, and to respond well when the answer is wrong, weak, or missing.
Before we start. Talk these through out loud — there are no wrong answers.
Discuss:
  • Think of the best teacher, trainer or boss you ever had. What did they say that made you think?
  • Think of a time someone made you feel stupid for a wrong answer. What did they say? How did you feel afterwards?
  • Why is a room full of silent people so hard to lead — and what usually breaks the silence?

The same question, asked two ways

Read each pair. Say which version makes people think — and why — before you reveal.

Version 1: "The company lost money because of poor planning, didn't it?"
Version 2: "What do you think went wrong with the planning — and what would you check first?"
Version 2. Version 1 contains its own answer ("yes") and ends with a tag that pushes people to agree. Version 2 is open — it cannot be answered with one word — and the second half asks for a method, not just an opinion.
Version 1: "Any questions?" (said while closing the laptop)
Version 2: "Take a minute and write down the one thing that is still unclear — then tell the person next to you."
Version 2. "Any questions?" asks people to admit, in public, that they did not understand. Giving a task and thinking time makes it safe — nobody has to be the only confused person.
Version 1: "Can anyone tell me why the bridge failed?"
Version 2: "Here are three possible reasons the bridge failed. Which one do you find least convincing, and why?"
Version 2. Asking for the least convincing option gives everyone something to argue against. People find it easier to challenge an idea than to invent one from nothing.
Your turn:
  • Take a boring question — "Do you understand?" — and turn it into one that makes people think. Say your version out loud.
  • Why does the wording of a question change how safe it feels to answer?

Five kinds of question

A good discussion uses a mix. Here are five kinds, with the language for each. All the examples use one case: a bridge that collapsed.

1. Recall — checking the facts first.
"What happened first?" · "Can someone summarise the main events?" · "What did the report actually say?"

2. Explain — asking for reasons and causes.
"Why do you think that happened?" · "What was the reasoning behind that decision?" · "How would you account for…?"

3. What if — imagining a different outcome.
"What would have happened if…?" · "Suppose they had… — how might things have turned out?" · "What if the warning had been taken seriously?"

4. Challenge — testing the evidence and the claim.
"What makes you so sure?" · "What evidence would change your mind?" · "Who would disagree with that, and what would they say?"

5. Connect — linking to other cases and real life.
"Where else have you seen this pattern?" · "How does this compare with…?" · "What does this suggest about how we should work?"

Name the question type

Five questions about a different case — a company that ran out of money. Say which of the five types each one is: Recall · Explain · What if · Challenge · Connect.

1. "Why do you think nobody raised the alarm about the cash running out?"
Explain — it asks for reasons.
2. "Where else — in a company you know, or your own life — have you seen sales growing while the money disappears?"
Connect — it links the case to the speaker's own world.
3. "The founder says the market was the problem. What makes you so sure that's true?"
Challenge — it asks for evidence behind a claim.
4. "In what order did the three big mistakes happen?"
Recall — it has one factual answer.
5. "What would have happened if they had sold half as much in the first year?"
What if — it asks the group to imagine a different outcome.

Making it easier to answer

Give thinking time: "Take a moment." · "Think about it for thirty seconds before anyone answers." · "Turn to the person next to you first."
Rephrase, don't repeat: "Let me put that differently…" · "Another way to ask this is…"
Narrow it down: "Let's start with just the first year." · "Pick one of the three decisions and tell me what you'd have done."
Invite, don't pick: "Who would like to start?" · "Would anyone like to take a different view?"

Build your own

Take this case: a city that built a new tram line which almost nobody used. Write (or say) one question of each type. Then ask the five questions out loud as if to a room — and listen to how the mix feels.

When it goes wrong

A wrong answer, a long silence, a rambling reply: these moments decide whether people keep talking. Read each situation and choose the best response — say your choice, then reveal.

Choose the best response

Situation 1. A participant says: "The bridge fell down because of the weather." The weather did play a part, but it was not the whole story. You say…
  (a) "No, that's wrong. Next."
  (b) "The weather played a part — what else was happening to the bridge in the months before that day?"
  (c) "Exactly right. Let's move on."
(b) — it names what is true in the answer, then asks a question that leads the speaker to the missing piece. (a) closes the discussion; (c) says "right" when the answer is only partly right.
Situation 2. You ask a hard question. Nobody speaks for twenty seconds. You say…
  (a) "Come on, someone must know."
  (b) "Nobody? Fine, I'll just tell you."
  (c) "Let's take a minute. Talk it over with the person next to you, and then I'll ask for ideas."
(c) — silence usually means thinking, or fear of being first. Pair talk makes it safe. (a) adds pressure; (b) teaches the room that if they wait long enough, you will do the thinking for them.
Situation 3. A participant gives a long, confusing answer with several ideas mixed together. You say…
  (a) "Let me check I've understood: you're saying the plan failed because the team was too small — is that right?"
  (b) "That was too long. Be shorter."
  (c) "Interesting. Moving on."
(a) — paraphrasing gives the speaker the chance to correct you, and shows the room what a clear version sounds like. (b) is unkind; (c) ignores someone who tried.

The language of a good response

Keep what's right: "That's part of it." · "You're right that… and I'd add…" · "I can see how you got there."
Test the idea, not the person: "Let's test that. If that were true, what else would we expect to see?" · "What would the opposite view say?"
Open it to the room: "Who sees it differently?" · "Does anyone want to build on that?"
Check you have understood: "So what you're saying is… ?" · "Can you give me an example?"
Say "I don't know" with confidence: "That's a really good question, and I don't know the answer. How could we find out?" · "I'd need to check before I give you a number."

Rewrite the harsh version

Each of these shuts a person down. Say a better version out loud, then reveal a model.

1. "That's not what the report says. Did you even read it?"
"Let's go back to the report together — which paragraph were you looking at?"
2. "No. Anybody else?"
"Not quite — but you've raised something important. Let's keep your first point and look at the second one. What do others think?"
3. "I've already explained that."
"Let me put that a different way — it may help. Tell me which part still feels unclear."

Lead the room

All of it out loud, against the clock. Whoever is listening plays the room — and has permission to be quiet, wrong or difficult.

Useful language: What makes you so sure? · Take a moment. · Who sees it differently? · That's part of it — what else? · Let me put that differently. · What would have happened if…? · Where else have you seen this? · That's a really good question, and I don't know. How could we find out?
Time remaining: 4:00
Task A · The mini-seminar (4 minutes)

Choose one case and lead a short discussion on it. In your four minutes, ask at least one question of each of the five types and react to every answer you hear.

  • A bridge that collapsed after a small change to the design.
  • A start-up whose sales doubled while its bank account emptied.
  • A treaty system that pulled several countries into a war nobody wanted.
  • A software update that switched off thousands of computers in one morning.
Task B · Three difficult moments (4 minutes)

Whoever plays the room picks one card at a time and acts it out. The leader must respond in the moment.

  • The silence: nobody speaks after your question.
  • The wrong answer: someone gives a confident answer that is half right.
  • The question you can't answer: someone asks something you really don't know.
Task C · Close the session (3 minutes)

You have ninety seconds left. Sum up the three most important ideas from the discussion, check what is still unclear, and end by asking the room a question they will keep thinking about tomorrow.

To finish — the harder questions

  1. Is it kinder to correct a wrong answer immediately, or to let the group discover it? When does each approach make sense?
  2. A participant asks a question you cannot answer in front of everyone. Is admitting it a weakness or a strength — and does the answer depend on culture?
  3. Some people think "any questions?" is the worst question in teaching. Do you agree? What is the better alternative?
  4. Before you go — from memory: name the five kinds of question, and give one phrase you can use when someone's answer is half right.