The way you ask a question can lead your conversation partner to answer in a certain way. You might find yourself adding your own opinion to your questions, which results in a  “closed question,” where the answer is short and may not lead to further discussion.

Use this list of powerful questions to unlock a more meaningful level of discussion in your next 1-1.

Setting the conversation foundation and expectations

• What’s on your mind?

• What’s changed since we last spoke?

• What would you like to focus on for our conversation?

• How do you want to prioritize our time together today?

• What outcome do you want to achieve from our conversation?

Getting to the root of the problem

• Why is solving this important?

• How will you measure the success of this?

• What does a great outcome look like?

• How will you know you’ve succeeded?

• When have you been in a similar situation in the past?

Setting sights on a solution

• What have you tried so far?

• What isn’t working? Why do you think that is?

• What other solutions did you consider?

• If you could start over, what would you do differently?

• What’s blocking you right now?

Ending the conversation and establishing next steps

• When would you like to check in about this?

• What resources do you need in order to be successful?

• What’s the first thing you’re going to do to help resolve this?

• How will you hold yourself accountable?

• Who do you have to support you?