A free guide to asking
Ask the question that gets a real answer.
Pick where you're asking and what you need to find out. The question builder suggests open questions, follow-ups and probes, then checks the question you wrote for yes/no and leading wording. It works for job and news interviews, meetings, classrooms and town halls.
Don't you think the new schedule is a mistake?
Leading. Suggests the answer.What has the new schedule changed for you so far?
Open. Asks for experience.Question builder
Choose a situation and a goal. Add who or what you're asking about if you like, and the questions will use it.
Check a question before you ask it
Type or paste one question. The checker flags yes/no openings, leading phrases, two questions in one and loaded wording, then suggests an open version.
A good question for X
Give a topic and a tone. You get open questions sized for a post, each with a character count that uses X's weighted counting (most letters count once; emoji and many non-Latin characters count twice; links count as 23).
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Questions that get replies on X
- Ask one thing. A post with two questions usually gets answers to neither. Pick the one you care about.
- Make it easy to start answering. "What's the first book you remember finishing?" can be answered in five words. "What is literature for?" needs an essay, so fewer people try.
- Ask about experience, not verdicts. People reply more readily about what happened to them than about whether something is good or bad in general, and the replies are more interesting.
- Give your own answer. Adding yours in the post or the first reply shows the length and tone you're hoping for, and it makes the question feel sincere.
- Reply to the replies. A question is the start of a conversation. Answering the first few responses tells other readers someone is listening.
- Skip the bait. "Only real fans will answer" and "Wrong answers only" fill a thread fast but rarely with anything you'd want to read. Ask what you actually want to know.
The Good Question Project is not affiliated with X Corp. "X" and "Twitter" are named here only to describe what the tool is for.
Guides by situation
All guides-
How to ask good interview questions
Hiring, research or a podcast: plan a few open questions, listen more than you talk, and follow the answer you didn't expect.
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Asking questions as a reporter
Get specifics on the record, re-ask when a question is dodged, and ask every source who else you should call.
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Better questions for meetings
Open with the decision you need, ask quieter people by name, and never leave without "who does what by when?"
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Asking good questions in the classroom
Wait after you ask, follow up on the answer, and give students time to write their own questions.
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How to ask a good question at a town hall
One question, under 30 seconds, asking for something you can check later: a date, a number, a vote or a commitment.
Questions from the articles
All articles- If a state is still counting after Election Day, does that mean something is wrong? Why does it take days to count the votes, and should it?
- When a child asks "why?" for the fifth time, what are they actually after? Why kids ask so many questions, and how to answer them
- How can a missile officer know that a launch order is lawful and sane? Harold Hering's question about nuclear launch orders
- What would we have needed to ask in 2002 to see what the reviews found in 2004? The questions that weren't asked before the Iraq war
- What would the Senate need to know to give real "advice and consent"? Questions senators can ask at confirmation hearings
- When money buys a meeting, what else does it buy? Donors and access: questions to ask about money in politics
- What makes one question powerful enough to change what happens next? How one question changed history
- Who gets to make the rules for a place that isn't anywhere? John Perry Barlow's questions about the internet and freedom
Common questions about questions
What makes a question a good question?
A good question is one the other person can actually answer, that you don't already know the answer to, and that moves the conversation toward something you need: a fact, a reason, an example or a decision. Most good questions are open (they start with what, how, why, or tell me about), short, and ask one thing at a time.
What is the difference between an open and a closed question?
A closed question can be answered with yes, no or a single fact, such as 'Did you finish the report?' An open question invites an explanation, such as 'What got in the way of finishing the report?' Closed questions are useful for confirming facts. Open questions are better when you want to learn something you didn't expect.
What is a leading question?
A leading question suggests the answer it wants. 'Don't you think the plan is too expensive?' pushes the listener toward agreeing. A neutral version is 'How do you see the cost of the plan?' Leading questions produce answers that tell you more about the asker than about the person answering.
Does the question builder store what I type?
No. The question builder and the X question generator run entirely in your browser. Nothing you type is sent to a server or saved.