The Strategic Questioning Process
Fran Peavey has written extensively on the art of questioning at this link.
Or here is a summary of some of her thinking: Strategic Questioning
Here is her framework of questioning.
The First Level: Describing the Issue or Problem
1. Focus Questions gather information that is already known. When you look at the river, what do you see that concerns you?
2. Observation Questions
What do you see? What do you read about this situation? What information do you need to gather about this situation?
3. Analysis Questions (Thinking Questions)
What is the relationship of ... to ...? What are the main economic, political, cultural, and social structures that affect this situation?
4. Feeling Questions
How has this situation affected your body? Your feelings? How has it affected feelings about your family, community, the world?
The Second Level: Strategic Questions....Digging Deeper
Now we start asking questions that increase the motion. The mind takes off, creating new information, synthesizing, moving from what is known to the realm of what could be.
5. Visioning Questions are concerned with identifying one's ideals, values, and dreams. How would you like it to be? What is the meaning of this situation in your life?
6. Change Questions address how to get to a more ideal situation. How might changes you would like to see come about? Name as many ways as possible. What are changes you have seen or read about? Here you are trying to find the person's change view, which will greatly impact their strategies for change.
7. Considering All the Alternatives. What are all the possible ways you could accomplish these changes? How could you reach that goal? What are other ways? What would it take for you to do ...?
8. Consider The Consequences How would your first alternative affect the others in the context? What would be the effect on the environment? What political effect would you anticipate from each alternative?
9. Consider the Obstacles What would need to change in order for alternative "a" to be done? What keeps you from doing ...? Decisions become clear around this point. Are you getting a sense of what you want to do? What is in the way of clarity?
10. Personal Inventory and Support Questions What support to you need to do ...? What support would you need to work for this change?
11. Personal Action Questions Who do you need to talk to about you vision? How can you get others together to work on this?
Or here is a summary of some of her thinking: Strategic Questioning
Here is her framework of questioning.
The First Level: Describing the Issue or Problem
1. Focus Questions gather information that is already known. When you look at the river, what do you see that concerns you?
2. Observation Questions
What do you see? What do you read about this situation? What information do you need to gather about this situation?
3. Analysis Questions (Thinking Questions)
What is the relationship of ... to ...? What are the main economic, political, cultural, and social structures that affect this situation?
4. Feeling Questions
How has this situation affected your body? Your feelings? How has it affected feelings about your family, community, the world?
The Second Level: Strategic Questions....Digging Deeper
Now we start asking questions that increase the motion. The mind takes off, creating new information, synthesizing, moving from what is known to the realm of what could be.
5. Visioning Questions are concerned with identifying one's ideals, values, and dreams. How would you like it to be? What is the meaning of this situation in your life?
6. Change Questions address how to get to a more ideal situation. How might changes you would like to see come about? Name as many ways as possible. What are changes you have seen or read about? Here you are trying to find the person's change view, which will greatly impact their strategies for change.
7. Considering All the Alternatives. What are all the possible ways you could accomplish these changes? How could you reach that goal? What are other ways? What would it take for you to do ...?
8. Consider The Consequences How would your first alternative affect the others in the context? What would be the effect on the environment? What political effect would you anticipate from each alternative?
9. Consider the Obstacles What would need to change in order for alternative "a" to be done? What keeps you from doing ...? Decisions become clear around this point. Are you getting a sense of what you want to do? What is in the way of clarity?
10. Personal Inventory and Support Questions What support to you need to do ...? What support would you need to work for this change?
11. Personal Action Questions Who do you need to talk to about you vision? How can you get others together to work on this?