Coaches Guide to Probing
Questions
Mary Lou Ley
WI Peer Coaching Collaborative
Based on material from the Southern Maine Partnership
www.nsrfharmony.org
People tend to ask more detailed
clarifying questions that pertain to
what the speaker wishes to say or
know,
rather than questions clearly for the
benefit of the presenter.
Probing Questions are Tricky
The quality of a Probing Question
is determined by:
Its impact on the receiver
What makes a probing question a good one?
 Are for the benefit of the receiver and the
colleagues and students he/she impacts
 Deepen and expand thinking and conversation
 Sustain thinking beyond the moment
 Are relevant and important to the receiver
 Keep learning at the center
 Are concise
 Elicit a slow, reflective response
 Are exploratory - they do not contain explicit
recommendations or directives
 Are non-judgmental - neutral rather than positive
or negative
Attributes
Judgments are expressed in a variety of ways:
• word choice,
• “tone” of voice, and
• body language.
We choose when and how we express
our judgments.
Guard against asking probing questions that:
• contain an expression of negative judgment,
e.g. “Why, in heaven’s name, did you do
that?”, or
• “Don’t you think you should at least try to…?”
Judgments cause people to shut down
Expression of negative judgments puts
people in the “Danger Zone”
Comfort
Discomfort
Risk
Danger
Don’t avoid discomfort and risk
Honor your trust level
• a. What criteria did you use to…?
• b. How did you decide/conclude that…?
• c. How was __________ different from
__________?
• d. What’s your hunch about…?
• e. What do you think the connection is
between ___________ and ___________?
Examples of good exploratory probing
questions:
 What’s another way you could…?
 What sort of impact would there be if you…?
What would it look like if you…?
What might you see happening if you…?
What would have to change in order for…?
What would happen if…?
Examples of suggestive but still
probing questions:
• What could you do that might cause x to…?
• Have you considered/explored/looked
into/thought about…?
• Would it be possible to…?
• Is there a way to…?
• How would it work if you…?
• Do you think there needs to be…?
Examples of probing questions: