How to Begin the “Asking for Support” Call

“Hello, this is Ben Castle. I’m looking for some information about after school child care centers in the area.  I thought you might be able to help me.”

“Hello, this Karen Carpenter.  I wanted to find out who you would recommend I call about getting a new pamphlet designed for my company.”

English Communication Skill: Asking Questions- Secrets of Open-Ended Questions

Increasing your question asking skill is indeed the skill experts say will do the most for career advancement.  And increasing your skill in asking questions will make your conversations more interesting – for the other person and you!

And here is a tip for you.  When you can, ask open-ended questions.

Unlike simple yes-or-no questions, open-ended questions  allow the respondent to talk – and enable you to get much more information.   Questions requiring a “yes” or “no” limit choices and force a decision.  On the other hand, when you want to find out a person’s opinion or gather some facts (especially during the course of a negotiation) the more you can get the other person to talk, the more information you learn.

Here is an example of a simple closed-ended question requiring a yes–or-no answer:

“Do you like this car?”

An open-ended question, on the other hand, encourages the person to talk:

“What do you like about this car?”

Here are some classic open-ended questions when you want to get information.  They invite the other person to open up:

“What happened next?”

“So how did that make you feel?”

“Tell me about that.”

Go to the next level in question asking. Go to open-ended questions.

Be sure to watch our English Speech Tips videos and Accent Reduction Tip videos  for more English pronunciation and accent reduction exercise.

The “Asking for Support” Call

The “Asking for Support” call is not only a request for something.  It is also your research to get information and  learn more about a specific topic.  This kind of call can provide information, a recommendation, a referral, an appointment, words of encouragement, new ideas, or new opportunities.

English Communication Skill: Asking Questions- Secrets to the Two Goals of Questions

Today we get back to English communication skills.

Asking questions is at the heart of communication.   In fact experts say that increasing skills in asking questions and voice inflection are the two skills that do the most to boost the careers of native-born speakers of English.

Yay! Asking questions builds relationship and rapport.  Asking questions enables you to get the information you need and to clarify information.  Asking questions gets involvement in communication and makes dialogue.

Sometimes international people and native born English speakers feel uncomfortable with asking questions. That is when it sure helps to know that the two goals of asking questions are simple: to get facts and to get opinions.

To get facts:

1. “When did you begin work on the plan?”
2. “How many employees are available for this task?”
3. “What are the dimensions of the house?”
4. “Which car reached the intersection first?”

To get opinions:

1. “How good is this plan?”
2. “Will the schedule work?”
3. “What do you think of the design of the house?”
4. “Who caused the accident?”

Add asking questions to your communication in your work or academic life and in your daily life.  The other person will love the interaction and your seeking their knowledge and opinion.  You will love the relationship building and the information that helps you move forward in your goals and tasks.

Be sure to watch our English Speech Tips videos and Accent Reduction Tip videos  for more English pronunciation and accent reduction exercise.