Examples of Emotionally Based Questions

• When ___ happened to you what were you feelings? • How did it feel when ___?

• From what you have told me, am I correct in stating that you are feeling ____?

• What phrases or other statements are hot buttons for you?

• Emotionally, what is the most difficult part of this conflict for you? Why is that?

 

Examples of Interest Based Questions • What will it achieve for you if we . . . .?

• If your position is ____, what is your interest?

• You have told me what solution you’d like, but what do you see as the problem?

• What are your key concerns?

• Help me understand why this is really important to you.

• You say that _____ matters to you. Tell me more about that.

• Could you walk me through your interests step by step so I make sure I am clear?

 

Examples of Creativity Questions (Option Generation) • What are all of the possibilities around _____ issue?

• What else might you / we try around _____ issue?

• What are some ways you / we could deal with this problem?

• What if we get all of the options on the table and worry about deciding later?

• Do you have ideas on ___ issue that are different than what we’ve discussed thus far?

• If we work together, how might we make this better for all of us?

 

All questions come from Bill Ury’s website www.thirdside.org 

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