Open-ended questions: what they are, with 60 examples for meetings, workshops and training

An open-ended question is a question that can't be answered with yes, no or a single fact. It asks people to explain, describe or reflect: "What got in the way this week?" instead of "Did anything get in the way?"

Open-ended questions are how a meeting becomes a conversation. They surface ideas, concerns and context that a closed question never would. This guide explains how they work, when to use closed questions instead, and gives 60 open-ended questions you can use in meetings, workshops, training and feedback.

Open-ended vs closed questions

Neither is better. The best sessions use both: a closed question to see where the room stands ("Who has used this before?"), then an open one to understand why ("What made it hard?").

How to write a good open-ended question

• Start with what, how or why. "What", "how" and "tell me about" open a question. "Is", "do", "did" and "can" usually close it.
• Ask one thing at a time. "What worked and what didn't and what should we change?" gets a muddled answer. Split it into three.
• Go easy on "why". "Why did you do that?" can sound like blame. "What led to that?" asks the same thing more kindly.
• Make it specific. "How was the training?" gets "fine". "What's one thing from today you'll use this week?" gets a real answer.
• Leave silence. Count to seven before you rephrase or answer it yourself. Thinking takes time.

Open-ended questions for meetings

1. What's the most important thing we should talk about today?
2. What's changed since we last met?
3. What's getting in the way right now?
4. What would make this meeting worth your time?
5. What are we not talking about that we should be?
6. How could we make this decision easier?
7. What would you do if you were in charge of this?
8. What do you need from the rest of the team this week?
9. What's one thing we could stop doing?
10. What would success look like a month from now?
11. What questions do you still have?
12. What should we agree on before we leave?

Open-ended questions for workshops and brainstorming

13. What problem are we really trying to solve?
14. What would our customers say about this?
15. What have we tried before, and what did we learn?
16. How might we do this with half the time or budget?
17. What would a completely different approach look like?
18. What's the boldest idea you'd suggest if nobody could say no?
19. What assumptions are we making?
20. Which of these ideas excites you most, and why?
21. What could go wrong with this plan?
22. What would need to be true for this to work?
23. Who else should be part of this conversation?
24. What's the smallest next step we could take?

For structured ways to run these, see 1-2-4-All, brainwriting and the ORID method, which is built entirely on open-ended questions.

Open-ended questions for training

25. What do you already know about this topic?
26. What do you hope to get out of today?
27. Where have you seen this happen at work?
28. How would you explain this to a new colleague?
29. What part of this feels hardest to apply?
30. What would you do differently after this session?
31. What surprised you most so far?
32. How does this connect to what you do every day?
33. What questions would a customer ask about this?
34. What's one thing you'll try this week?
35. What still feels unclear?
36. What example from your own work fits this idea?

Open-ended questions for feedback and retrospectives

37. What went well that we should keep doing?
38. What didn't go as planned?
39. What would you change if we did this again?
40. What helped you most during this project?
41. What slowed you down?
42. What's one thing we learned?
43. How did the way we worked together feel?
44. What should we start doing next time?
45. What should we stop doing?
46. What would have made this easier for you?
47. What's one thing you'd tell a team about to start the same project?
48. What are you most proud of?

More in our guide to feedback questions for meetings and training.

Open-ended questions for check-ins and one-on-ones

49. What's on your mind today?
50. What's been the best part of your week?
51. What's taking most of your energy right now?
52. What would make next week better?
53. What are you looking forward to?
54. How can I help you this week?
55. What's something you'd like to learn?
56. What's one thing you wish I knew about your work?
57. What feedback do you have for me?
58. What's a recent win you haven't told anyone about?
59. Where do you want to be in a year?
60. What's one thing we should talk about next time?

For more ways to open a session, see check-in questions for meetings.

Getting answers from everyone, not just the loudest

The problem with an open question in a group is that the same three people answer it. A few ways around that:

• Write first, then share. Give everyone a minute to write their answer before anyone speaks. Think-pair-share is built on this.
• Collect answers in the chat or on phones. Everyone answers at once, and quieter people get the same say as confident ones.
• Pair an open question with a closed one. Ask a quick poll first ("Which of these is the biggest blocker?"), then the open question about the top answer.

On Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams, Claryoo gathers questions from the chat and from what people say out loud onto one board, and its live polls turn the closed half into a ten-second vote. In a room, people answer on their phones.

FAQ

What is an open-ended question?

A question that can't be answered with yes, no or a single word. It invites people to explain in their own words, such as "What would make this easier for you?"

What are examples of open-ended questions?

"What went well this week?", "How would you explain this to a new colleague?", "What's getting in the way right now?" and "What would you change if we did this again?" are all open-ended questions.

What is the difference between open-ended and closed questions?

A closed question has a short, fixed answer, such as yes, no or a choice from a list. An open-ended question asks for an explanation. Closed questions are quick and easy to count; open-ended questions give you ideas and reasons.

How do you turn a closed question into an open-ended one?

Start it with "what", "how" or "tell me about" instead of "is", "do" or "can". "Did the training help?" becomes "What from the training will you use?"

When should you use open-ended questions?

When you want ideas, reasons, feelings or feedback: in brainstorming, retrospectives, one-on-ones, training debriefs and the discussion part of a meeting. Use closed questions when you need a quick decision or a fact.

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