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Exercises/Divergent Ideation/Ask Follow-Up Questions-and Listen • Interactivity Foundation
Prompted Conversation · Divergent Ideation

Ask Follow-Up Questions-and Listen • Interactivity Foundation

A good first follow-up question can be as simple as: “Can you tell me more?” Then subsequent questions will follow naturally.

5 to 15 minutesTIME
Small group (4-8)GROUP SIZE
ActiveENERGY
In personSETTING
High cognitive loadCOGNITIVE LOAD
Strengthens Participation Architecture This divergent ideation exercise strengthens Participation Architecture, one of the eight Gathering Effectiveness pillars.

How to run it

  1. Two years after the class, her professor received the following email from Ashley.
  2. Asking questions as a follow-up to a comment is a simple but under-used communication practice. When you ask follow-up questions you get a real sense of the thinking behind the comment. They make you focus on listening to what others have to say.
  3. A good first follow-up question can be as simple as: “Can you tell me more?” Then subsequent questions will follow naturally.
  4. Follow-up questions can also give others a sense that you are really interested in what they have to say. They feel they are being heard. In order to ask meaningful follow-up questions, you also need to listen carefully to what others are saying.
  5. Ask Follow-Up Questions-and Listen Discuss.
Live facilitator

Run this exercise live

The facilitator console stays in this browser. Its QR handoff is a short-lived participant snapshot containing only public exercise instructions, phase, prompt, and timer state.

Prompts to use +

Asking questions as a follow-up to a comment is a simple but under-used communication practice. When you ask follow-up questions you get a real sense of the thinking behind the comment. They make you focus on listening to what others have to say.

A good first follow-up question can be as simple as: “Can you tell me more?” Then subsequent questions will follow naturally.

Follow-up questions can also give others a sense that you are really interested in what they have to say. They feel they are being heard. In order to ask meaningful follow-up questions, you also need to listen carefully to what others are saying.

Ask Follow-Up Questions-and Listen Discuss.

Run this with your AI assistant +

Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or your own local model: paste this prompt and your AI will co-facilitate this exercise with you.

Adapt this exercise for my exact room. Exercise: Ask Follow-Up Questions-and Listen • Interactivity Foundation. Readiness: Publishable Draft. Core moves: Asking questions as a follow-up to a comment is a simple but under-used communication practice. When you ask follow-up questions you get a real sense of the thinking behind the comment. They make you focus on listening to what others have to say.; A good first follow-up question can be as simple as: “Can you tell me more?” Then subsequent questions will follow naturally.; Follow-up questions can also give others a sense that you are really interested in what they have to say. They feel they are being heard. In order to ask meaningful follow-up questions, you also need to listen carefully to what others are saying.; Ask Follow-Up Questions-and Listen Discuss.. Return a concise facilitator script with timing, wording, safety notes, and remote/in-person adjustments.

Origin unverified

  • Where we observed it: The strongest current observations come from Interactivity Foundation; aggregators are listed as additional observations, not origin proof. (1 source observed, including Interactivity Foundation.)
  • What that means: we track where an exercise has been observed in public sources. We do not claim to know who created it, or how popular it is.
  • No efficacy claims: appearing in this library is not a claim that the exercise is proven effective. Facilitator judgment and context decide whether it works for a given room.
  • Corrections: if you have evidence of an earlier or more accurate source, read our methodology and trust boundary and tell us.

Pairs well with