These are the lecture notes from my talk earlier this morning on “The Art of Questioning.”
Criteria for Selecting a Good Area of Questioning
“The spark effect”: CONTROVERSY
“The fresh effect”: UNIQUENESS
“The CNN effect”: RELEVANCE
“The enriching effect”: IMPORTANCE
“The voice effect”: AMPLIFICATION
What makes a good question?
Sharpness
Focus
Color
Composition
Light
There are (at least, and probably many many more) five popular types of questions to ask political candidates at debates and townhall meetings.
Question Type #1: Walk in my shoes
Use personal or collective experience to set-up question
“In Moldova, local traditions are being squeezed out by American film and music…”
Question Type #2: Well, goooolly
Reveal an attention-getting fact, statistic, or opinion
“Global warming, if left unchecked, will increase deadly hurricanes, elevate sea levels, and disrupt the global food supply…”
Question Type #3: Gotcha
Use statements or actions that have been made by the candidates against them
“Senator Clinton, knowing what you know now, do you think it was a mistake to invade Iraq?”
Question Type #4: Principle to action
Identify a key principle and ask whether a current policy lives up to it
“America has been a beacon for democratic inspiration for centuries; do you think that image has been tarnished?”
Question Type #5: Reveal your values
Try to get the candidate not to reveal specific policy actions, but their general outlook on governing
“What world leader do you look up to as a role model?” Exercises for Question Writing
Write five slightly different questions on the same topic
Present to group; narrow to 3 areas of questions
Erasmus-style brainstorming for refinement: write it 100 ways!
Apply criteria of what makes a good question to all examples
Listen to feedback carefully
Imagine the production of the video
Final Thoughts
Cooperate: ‘tis better to improve someone else’s question then selfishly push for your own