Workplace English Podcasts

In this podcast lesson we're going to focus on questioning techniques once again. Questioning is the most important way of exchanging information in business situations. Since there are many situations where questions are used in gaining information, there are, of course, many different ways of asking questions.

The most important thing to consider when asking questions concerns your relationship with the person you are speaking to. Obviously, the closer you are to someone, the more informal your questions can be. It’s advisable, though, to be more polite than is usually necessary if you are unsure how polite or formal to be. Informal, direct questions may be considered impolite in certain situations with certain people; formal, indirect questions can often be considered inappropriate in other situations.

Would you use the same type of questions with your subordinate as you would with a customer? Would you question your boss in the same way you'd question your colleague? It's doubtful.

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