During times of change in people’s lives, you may not always have an answer or response to the questions and comments being raised by your group members – and that’s OK! It’s OK to say, “I don’t know.” In fact, can I suggest that even if you do have the answer, you don’t always have to explain it to your group…

Let me explain:

By asking good and effective questions, instead of simply providing a response, you’re helping others think and problem solve for themselves. This creates ownership in the person of their own questions, concerns, thoughts and feelings.

By asking good and effective questions, you stay in control of the conversation by turning the discussion back to the group, rather than the group relying on you to have all the answers all the time.

By asking good and effective questions, it helps you to stay neutral in the discussion.

Good questions are discovery-based. They’re motivated by a genuine desire to understand and connect with the other person.

Here are some questions you might consider keeping in the back of your mind for your next Small Group meeting:

• Can you tell me more about that?
• How do you feel / think this will impact you?
• What is the biggest challenge you’re facing with this?
• What would you like to see happen with this?
• If you could have things the way you wanted, what would it look like?
• Why is that important to you?
• What concerns you most about this change?
• What do you think is the worst that could happen because of this change?
• What do you think is the best that could happen because of this change?
• Is there anything you could do to help yourself feel more comfortable with this change?
• Is there anything we could do as a group to help you feel more comfortable with this change?

For more information on what it means to ask good questions, and the benefits of doing so, click on the image below to view a video created by North Point Ministries: