Why is it important to understand what open vs closed questions are and when to use each type of question effectively?
Have you ever been in a situation where you were dealing with a challenge and you didn’t know how to move forward, but then somebody asked a question such as “What obstacles are stopping you?”.
A question like this might have made you stop and think, and give you that extra impetus you needed to come up with an answer.
This is the power of open questions (also called open-ended questions), in that they can help you reflect and unlock situations and help you solve conflicts and problems, or persuade somebody such as when you are trying to close a sale.
On the other hand, closed questions (also called close-ended questions) may be useful in other situations.
So, let’s find out more about what open and closed questions are, how to ask them, and when each type is the most appropriate.
What Is the Difference Between Open and Closed Questions?
The difference between open vs closed questions is a matter of how questions are asked, the intent with which they are asked, and the type of answers they elicit.
Closed questions require just a “yes” or “no” answer, or a choice between limited options. Closed-ended questions are useful when you just want to know a factual piece of information.
For instance, the questions “Do you enjoy coffee?”, “Would you prefer coffee or tea?”, “Did you finish the report?” provide a limited choice of options to choose from and do not invite the person answering to elaborate further.
So, to the questions “Do you like coffee?” and “Did you finish the report?” you might answer “yes” or “no” and to the question “Would you prefer coffee or tea?” you might answer “Tea, please”, “Coffee, please” or “I’m ok thank you” (meaning that you would not want either).
After that, you would not need to give any more information if you prefer not to.
Open questions instead invite a more detailed response, whereby you invite the other person to share their feelings, thoughts, experiences, or ideas with you.
Open-ended questions usually start with expressions such as “why”, “what”, “how”, “describe”, or “tell me more about…”
For example, open questions might be “What do you like most about coffee?” or “What challenges did you face while completing the report?”
Open questions can also be used as follow-up questions to find out more about a topic or a person.
For example, you might ask a colleague, “Did you go to the sales team presentation yesterday?” and, if they say “Yes”, you can ask “What did you find to be the most interesting point they made?”
Examples of Open vs Closed Questions
Here are some more examples of open vs closed questions and how they may work in different situations.
In a Social Setting (e.g., Meeting a Friend)
Closed question: “Did you have a good weekend?”
The answer may be “Yes” or “No”, after which the respondent does not have to continue giving you more information.
Open question: “What did you do during the weekend?”
This question invites the person to elaborate, which can spark a deeper and more engaging exchange.
At Work (e.g., Team Meeting)
Closed question: “Is the project on schedule?”
In this case, you just want to know if the project is likely to be completed on time or not. So, maybe you don’t need to know any more information for now.
Open question: “What challenges are you facing with the project?”
If the team says that the project is not on schedule, then you may want to know what is slowing the progress down. By asking an open-ended question, you make it easier for the team to discuss issues and start brainstorming solutions.
In a Relationship
Closed question: “Are you okay?”
In this case, you just want to know if the other person is well or not.
Open question: “How are you feeling today?”
This question requires a more in-depth answer, showing that you want to delve deeper into how they are feeling and want to know more about their feelings and well-being.
As you can see, both types of questions have a rationale and both can be useful.
What you need is to be able to tell when and how to use each type of question. For example, depending on if you want to start an in-depth conversation or quickly gather facts, you will use one or the other kind of questions.
5 Tips on How to Ask Open vs Closed Questions
Let’s now take a look at some tips to help you use open and closed questions appropriately and in the most effective way to gather the information you need, or create the flow of conversation you want.
1. Start with Open-Ended Questions
Generally speaking, starting a conversation with open questions helps the other person open up more and it shows that you are interested in what they have to say.
So, the other person is likely to trust you more and the conversation after that tends to flow more easily.
If you start a conversation with an open question, therefore, you can:
- Improve engagement by making the other person feel valued as you show that you care about their opinions.
- Gather better insights about the context, before delving deeper into details
- Build rapport as open questions help put the other person at ease and break the ice
For example, instead of starting a conversation with a question like “Did you enjoy the event?”, you can ask, “What did you think of the event?”. The open question allows the other person to say more about the topic.
Or, in a job interview, asking the question “What inspired you to apply for this position?” allows the interviewee to talk about themselves freely and gives them a chance to express their motivations.
Likewise, if you are doing qualitative marketing research, you can ask an open question at the start of an interview or questionnaire, such as “Can you tell me about your recent experiences with [our product/brand]? What stood out to you the most?”
This type of question invites the customer to open up and give you better insights, as it does not feel too formal or restrictive.
2. Use Open Questions to Encourage Deeper Responses
As we have mentioned already, open questions are better if you want to have more information and get deeper responses.
Open questions are particularly valuable when you want to foster creativity, gather insights, or encourage people to think critically.
For example, during a brainstorming session, open questions are quite useful. A question such as “How do you see our product evolving?” can encourage people to develop a vision and use their imagination.
In a one-to-one review meeting, it is also useful to ask open questions. For instance, instead of asking an employee “Do you like your job?”, you can ask “What motivates you in your work?”.
This question can help you find out more about the employee and investigate their strengths and also areas for improvement.
Similarly, in market research, a question like “Can you walk me through your thought process when choosing a product like ours?” might really help you discover what your customers’ mindset is.
3. Leverage Closed Questions to Clarify or Confirm Information
Close-ended questions can be very valuable when you need to get concise answers and straightforward information.
In particular, closed questions are useful when you need answers quickly, such as in emergency situations and when decisions need to be made fast and without ambiguity.
Also, closed questions are helpful when you are closing a conversation and want to summarize something or confirm if the other people have understood. For example, after a discussion, you can ask, “Does everyone understand clearly what we are going to do next?”
During a meeting, closed questions can be useful to get to the point quickly. For example, the question “Are we meeting the deadline?” allows you to find out directly if you will finish the project at the right time.
In qualitative market research, you can ask a question such as “Have you ever purchased this product before?” to quickly establish if the participant has prior experience with the product before diving into more detailed open-ended questions.
4. Balance Open vs Closed Questions to Maintain Control Over Conversations
In a conversation, it is useful to get the right balance of open vs closed questions.
Too many open questions can lead the conversation astray, making it feel unstructured and you might end up losing track of what you wanted to achieve.
On the other hand, too many closed questions can make the conversation feel rigid and may not produce the most interesting information.
So, you need both types of questions in the right amount, to gain detailed enough information, while keeping focus.
A good strategy is to start with open questions to start abroad and get more background information, create rapport, and break the ice.
For example, consider the following scenarios in which you might want to use a balance of open vs closed questions:
Strategic Team Meeting
Start with an open question such as: “What are some potential marketing strategies we haven’t explored yet?” and follow up with closed questions, such as “Do we have the budget for strategy X?” or “Can we implement this within our timeline?”
One-to-One Review
You can ask your direct report an open question at the start, such as “What accomplishments from this past quarter are you most proud of?” This question encourages reflection.
A follow-up closed question might be “Did you meet your targets for the quarter?” A question like this allows you to assess the employee’s performance against specific metrics, which is also important to know if the employee is meeting their goals.
Qualitative Market Research
During an interview with a customer about a new product, you can ask “Can you describe your overall experience using our product?” at the start.
This type of question allows the customer to share with you insightful information, such as positive features, challenges, and any other issue that is important to them.
A closed follow-up question might be “Would you recommend this product to a friend?” This information can help quantify the customer’s overall sentiment toward the product.
>> Training Materials for Teaching Qualitative Market Research
5. Avoid Leading Questions and Frame Your Questions Neutrally
This is a tip that applies whether you are asking a closed or an open question. Leading questions are asked in such a way as to prompt the responder to answer in a certain way.
As such, asking leading questions is a bad idea if you want to gather genuine information, and avoid manipulating your responders.
For example, in qualitative market research, a leading question could be something like “Isn’t our new smartphone the best on the market, don’t you think?” This is a leading question because it implies that the product is good.
A way to rephrase it might be “What are your thoughts on our new product compared to others on the market?” This way, you can bring a comparison with other products and let the customer freely tell you what they think.
Likewise, if at a team meeting you ask a question such as “Given that we received so many positive comments, would you agree that the campaign was effective?”, this is a leading question because mentioning positive comments might suggest that a positive view is the norm.
A more neutral question might be “How do you view the feedback we received on the campaign?”
This question lets the respondents answer freely without being influenced by positive or negative words, so they can express their opinion about the campaign on its merit.
Open vs Closed Questions Applications
You can apply your understanding of open vs closed questions and how to use them, in many areas at work.
For example, you can use this understanding for:
Pros and Cons of Open-ended vs Closed Questions
Open Questions Pros:
- Enables you to gather much more information without the limits of closed questions, especially for research involving complex topics.
- Can help you gain much greater insight into the person’s thoughts, beliefs, opinions, needs, etc.
- Means they can give more than one answer to the question.
Open Questions Cons:
- Can take up a lot more time than closed questions.
- Means you might not get a direct and immediately clear answer.
Closed Questions Pros:
- Can be much easier for the respondent to answer.
- Much quicker and this might really help in situations where instant decisions are needed.
- Handy when very specific factual information is required from the person.
- Often means clear choices or options.
- Can keep a conversation directed when there is a clear intention with the conversation.
- Can be easier to analyze the data when doing surveys.
Closed Questions Cons:
- Can leave the respondent sometimes frustrated as they might not have the chance to express themself when answering a closed question.
- Means you can miss out on important information and data to find the root causes of issues.
Qualitative Marketing Research Training Materials for Employees
If you are a corporate trainer running marketing workshops or a marketing manager in charge of developing your team, you may find these ready-made and fully editable Qualitative Market Research training course materials useful.
Owner at Symonds Research Training Materials
Valeria has a PhD in Sociology, has 25 years+ working in education, has taught at the University of Bath &Cardiff Metropolitan University, & Hankuk University (Korea) & worked as a researcher for Exeter University, & has many years of industry experience including with Cardiff University in management roles. She now creates training course materials courseware.