Open vs. Closed-ended Questions: Which Are Better? (it's a trick question)

True or false: open-ended questions are better than closed-ended questions.

...what do you think?

This might seem like a no-brainer. There's a well accepted preference for open-ended questions (that start with a who, what, when, where, why or how) over closed-ended questions (that offer a limited set of responses, usually yes or no). And for a long time I thought that way, too. But there's much more to it, as I discuss in my online course on interviewing. Frankly, some situations demand a yes/no question.

Here's why:

TRANSCRIPT

00:00:00:05 - 00:00:20:25

Hey there. It's Joshua here in my messy home studio. Look, one of the things we talk about in my course on interviewing is how to craft questions. I hear a lot of people suggest that podcasters and broadcasters avoid closed-ended questions that would get a yes or no response and just use open-ended questions. Those who, what, where, when, why, how questions.

00:00:21:08 - 00:00:58:53

I think that's wrong, and here's why. Close-ended questions are almost always your best bet, if the nature and the nuance in the yes or the no adds meaning to the answer. The quintessential example that everybody knows: “Will you marry me?” There's a huge difference between saying “...yes?” and saying “Yes!” Same word, vastly different answers. In those cases, a closed-ended question is your best bet, and then you can always follow it with an open-ended question to add more meaning.

00:00:59:31 - 00:01:22:11

The caveat to this is one yes/no question that I wish every reporter would please stop asking forever. “Are you running for president?” Or governor or senator or mayor or whatever. Because they're never going to answer that question directly! “Well, Joshua, I appreciate you asking that question. As I’ve been contemplating my future I think that America is a land of dreams and values, and I want--” and it, just, it - stop.

00:01:22:22 - 00:01:43:22

Just do not ask that question! It's going to be useless. Instead, you can replace that with an open-ended question like, How are you contemplating running for office? Or, When are you going to make your announcement about campaign plans? Because then if they ramble, it's fine. “Well, I'm still talking with the people of the state of Minnesota-”, and it's fine, and it doesn't matter.

00:01:43:53 - 00:01:48:50

But if they're not going to give you a straight answer, don't bother asking them a yes-or-no question.

Check out my course on pro-level interviewing, called "Use Your Words!", and enroll here.