Ask Follow-Up Questions and Listen

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Direct participant attention toward exploring someone else's thinking through five sequential follow-up questions rather than making counter-statements.

Use it when: Use when discussion groups suffer from dominant speakers, serial monologues, or quick debates that cut off deeper exploration.

Skip it when: Skip when a group needs rapid decision-making, crisis coordination, or brief factual reporting where open-ended questioning would derail the agenda.

Group arrangement: Pairs or trios. Groups of 3 work well with one speaker and two questioners.

Timing: UWT plan structured for a 15-minute workshop block based on the 5-question mechanic.

Materials and tools

• One printed prompt slip or index card per person
• One visible timer or countdown display

Before participants arrive

1. Arrange chairs so pairs or trios can face each other without shouting.
2. Place the starter prompt list on a shared screen or write it on a board.

Say this to open

In conversations, we often rush to share our own stories or debate an idea. Today we will practice a different habit. When your partner makes a statement, you must ask five follow-up questions about that statement before offering any views of your own. Listen closely to each answer, because your next question should build directly on what they just said.

How to run it

1. Set up partners and prompt 2 minutes

   Form groups of two or three. Designate Person A as the first speaker and Person B (and C) as questioners. Point to the shared prompt list on the board or screen. Person A picks one prompt or shares a work-related opinion in one to two sentences.

2. Run Round 1: Five questions 5 minutes

   Person A makes their opening comment. Person B asks a first question, such as 'Can you tell me more about that?' Person A answers. Person B (and C in a trio) asks four more sequential follow-up questions based on the answers heard. Questioners may not share their own opinions or stories. Stop when five questions are answered or when five minutes expire.

3. Run Round 2: Swap roles 5 minutes

   Swap roles so Person B becomes the speaker and Person A becomes the questioner. Person B states their comment. Person A asks five sequential follow-up questions based on the answers. Stop when five questions are answered or when five minutes expire.

4. Debrief inquiry habits 3 minutes

   Call the room together. Invite two or three participants to answer how asking five questions changed their listening habits compared to normal conversation.

Debrief questions

• What was challenging about asking five questions without inserting your own opinion?
• How did your understanding of your partner's comment change between question one and question five?
• How did it feel to be questioned with genuine curiosity rather than debate?

Finished output: Each participant completes two rounds of disciplined inquiry, generating ten questions and answers across each pair.

Remote

Create breakout rooms for pairs or trios. Broadcast the prompt options into chat. Post broadcast messages when it is time to switch roles at the halfway mark.

Hybrid

Pair in-person participants with in-person partners and remote participants with remote partners in digital breakout rooms. Avoid cross-modality pairs to eliminate acoustic interference.

Access and participation choices

• Participants may pass on personal topics and use neutral work scenarios from the provided prompt list.
• Written questioning via chat or paper is permitted for participants who prefer non-verbal exchange.

If the session gets stuck

A questioner offers advice or debate disguised as a question (for example, 'Don't you think you should just...?').

Remind the room that follow-up questions seek clarity on the speaker's thoughts, such as 'What led you to that conclusion?' rather than nudging toward an answer.

The pair runs out of questions after two or three.

Advise them to use simple open inquiries like 'What was the hardest part of that?' or 'What happens next if that occurs?'

Terms used here

• Follow-up question: A question that explores, clarifies, or builds directly upon the statement just made by another speaker.