The man aim of this chapter was to analyse questioning in more depth. In which after reading this has showed me the qualities, importance and different aspects of questioning, ones that I would have never thought of before now.

Hargie explores many themes throughout this chapter he opens with first of all giving us context of why he chose to discuss questioning. He shows how something so simple can mean so much to us with this first quote:″We all know how to ask questions- after all, we have been doing it since we could talk- but as you likely realize becoming a questioner is hard″ Morgan and Saxon (2006:12) This is why many of us believe that questioning is pretty straightforward because we can do it without having to think too hard about it. While that is true I have found after reading this chapter there is a lot more to questioning as it more complex than just words formed into a sentence. As once you look into questioning in more depth you find that there is a lot more different structures and types of questions and in fact there is more benefits to asking a question than just finding out an answer.

Human interactions make us who we are, as the more we have the more open and effective at communicating we become. Without realising we use questions in our everyday human interactions and not giving it too much thought we are able to form a question in our head and decide what context to say it in all before we open our mouths to say it. Also sometimes there is other factors like our body language and our gestures that can indicate to a person that a question is about to be asked. This therefore allows that person to fully engage and even sometimes predict what question might be presented to them. I think it is important to note that questioning is a matter of skill, and if you ask the right questions this leads to more effective communication and information as the right question gets straight to the point.

In this Chapter Hargie explains that any reply to a question can be split into two groups. The first one is called the ‘preferred’ and this refers to when the response is what the questioner expected it to be and with the other group the ‘dispreferred’ is when the respondent replies in the complete opposite direction of what was expected. After all asking questions is a way of showing that you want more depth or to discuss a topic that you are unsure about. It is known that children are the most likely to ask more questions than adults and this is because at a young age we seem to be more inquisitive always looking for the answer to questions. Hargie highlights that at this very young age it is very important for the parent to take their time and answer and listen to what their child has to say after all this all plays a huge part in their learning and development process.

After reading this chapter I have now grown a deeper understanding for questioning and the effects of asking the right questions. I now understanding that asking questions is beneficial and healthy for my brain as it keeps it always wanting to know more and learning more as I go. What I can now take from this is how crucial it is to always take the time to give children your attention whenever they ask a question and not to brush it off to the side or ignore them as I now know the effects that could have on their future development.

″He who asks a question remains a fool for five minutes. He who does not ask remains a fool forever.″

References: ‘Finding out about others; the skill of questioning’ Hargie, O (2011) Skilled Interpersonal Communication: Research, Theory and Practice. 5th. Ed. London: Routledge.

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