How to Ask Follow-Up Questions with Examples

Introduction

Our day-to-day conversation is incomplete and monotonous without follow-up questions. Follow-up questions help us in getting deep insights into the topic we are discussing. But sometimes, it’s very difficult to know what follow-up questions we should ask. So, if you are also struggling with asking the right follow-up questions, this article will help you in choosing the right follow-up questions for making your conversation interesting. But before that, let’s discuss a bit more about why we need to ask follow-up questions. And How to Ask Follow-Up Questions with Examples.

Importance of Follow-Up Questions in a Conversation

Whenever we talk to a person, we make some statements. But these statements alone can’t continue a conversation. Accordingly, we need to ask some questions to give a direction to the conversation and show our interest in the conversation. These questions are called follow-up questions. If you don’t ask follow-up questions, the chances are that your conversation will end up very soon or become boring. 

The follow-up questions are crucial because: 

1. They help in keeping the casual conversation going on. The foremost benefit of follow-up questions is that they help in continuing the talk between two people. For example, if A has made a statement and B replied with a statement without asking follow-up questions, chances are that their conversation would end even without starting. Contrary to that, if A has made a statement and B asks a related follow-up question, A will answer that. Then B will again give a response through follow-up questions and so on. In this way, the conversation can go on for a longer time. 
2. Help in getting clarity about the mindset of the other person. No one can deny that questions are one of the best ways to get clarity on any topic. The same goes with day-to-day conversation. Unless you are asking follow-up questions, you might not be able to understand what the other person is trying to convey. Therefore if you want to be clear about the words of the other person, the best way is to ask some appropriate follow-up questions.
3. You get an elaborated view of the minute details. Knowing the minute details or requirements of a project is crucial in business. But how do you think you can get an in-depth detail about the other person’s feelings or needs? Obviously, through follow-up questions. Therefore follow-up questions play a massive role in business to get an elaborated view of minute details. For instance, if I am in a home décor business and a customer comes and asks for renovating the home through sceneries, I won’t jump in straight. My response would be to ask follow-up questions on what they want, details of their present home décor, how much expenditure they are willing to afford, and other related follow-up questions based on their response. 
4. These questions show to the other person that we are genuinely interested in their feelings and experiences. Also, when you keep on asking follow-up questions, it shows that you are not physically and mentally present in the conversation. For instance, if one person keeps on saying things and we don’t ask anything but keep on nodding; it’s natural to feel that we are not into the conversation. Therefore follow-up questions help us in showing our genuine interest in the person and their feelings. This creates a strong bond between two people, and you can make good friends. 
5. Assists you in making a rational decision when you are conducting an interview. Follow-up questions are crucial in an interview. From an interviewer’s perspective, he has to get a 360-degree view of your personality to hire the right candidate. This in-depth analysis is done by asking follow-up questions. For example, If you say that I have a strong work ethic, the follow-up question can be how would this benefit the firm? When you respond to this follow-up question, the recruiter will know that you don’t only possess the skill but also know of its utility. This answer would help him make a rational selection decision. 
6. You can seek information from your customers about your products. Follow-up questions are very beneficial to improve the quality of your products. The customers can give their constructive feedback through these questions, and you can use them to improve your product. 
7. Ask the interviewer if you are selected, after the interview. Follow-up questions also come in handy when you have not received any response from the firm where you had applied for a job. You will send follow-up questions asking for the expected time for the final hiring result. This way, you can show that you are interested in the post. This would help you to ease your nervousness and allow the interviewer to review your application if he has missed it. 

Tips and tricks to make your conversation interesting by asking the right follow-up question: 

1. Listen Carefully

The first thing that you should excel in to ask the right follow-up questions is to listen carefully. When you listen carefully, you know what the other person is talking about, and you can formulate your questions accordingly. 

For example, if A said that he went to a movie last night. Your follow-up question can be what was the movie name? As they reply to the name of the movie, you can ask whether they liked the movie. 

To keep the conversation you can add a question to the thing they have already answered. E.g. you said you went to watch Soul Movie (The statement that they made recently). What did you like the most about the movie? (the related question). 

Let’s look at how you can ace in active listening: 

1. Try to make maximum eye contact with another person to encourage them to reply to your question. Try to avoid folding your arms as this shows your lack of interest in the topic. 
2. It is highly advised that you paraphrase the sentence to get more clarity on what they are saying. E.g. so you mean to say that….. 
3. Avoid interrupting when another person is speaking and ask follow-up questions only when they are done. 
4. You should pay close attention to their facial expressions, gestures, hand movements, voice modulation, and other such behavioral aspects to understand the hidden meaning of their words. 
5. Don’t be present just physically but also mentally. This will be possible only if you are not thinking about other things and listening carefully to what they are saying. 
6. It would help if you stick to one topic and don’t change the topic abruptly. 
7. To learn the art of active listening, you should watch interviews; the way journalists speak, etc., and learn from their mistakes. 

2. Prefer open questions over closed questions.

There are two types of follow-up questions that we can ask.

• The first type is the open questions which require longer answers. The other person will give in-depth information to answer the same. 

Example: How was your journey to Paris? This question will get an in-depth analysis of the journey, and the conversation will become more interesting. 

• The second type of question is called closed questions. They are usually replied in yes or no. The answer can be one word or a short phrase. 

E.g. How many days did you spend on your Paris journey? The answer is usually a word or a short phrase. 

It’s recommended to ask more open questions because they require much thinking and sustain your conversation. Since closed questions don’t require much deliberation, they might make the conversation boring. 

3. Try to form your questions on common interest topics.

If you want to keep the conversation lively, you need to find the interests of the other person. For instance, your question can be how do you spend your free time? If reading books is their reply, your follow-up questions can be based upon their favorite book, author, the recent book they finished, etc. If you have asked a question about a topic that they are not interested in, you can divert the conversation towards general feelings. 

E.g. if You asked the other person if they like Dwayne Johnson and they replied negatively, you can mold the conversation and say that I like Dwayne Johnson because of his powerful acting. Which actor do you like? 

In this way, you will continue the conversation without making it boring. Always remember that conversation can become interesting and lively only if you aspire to make good connections with people.

4. Pick the right keywords.

To ask follow-up questions, you will use the words: who, what, how, why, where, when, Meaning, etc. the usage of the word will depend on what the other person has said. 

1. What can be used to ask about the: 
   • Kinds of movies, sports, books, etc. (What kind)
   • The thing/person they are talking about (about what) 
   • The purpose for doing a thing (for what) 
   • For additional examples (what else) 
   • To know the cause/ result (What happened) 
   • For asking for a problem (what’s wrong or what’s the matter) 
2. Who is used for Person (who’s the guy you are talking about or who did that) 
3. When: Time of occurring or place (e.g. Since when you are watching a movie) 
4. Where: Place (we’re at, where to?) 
5. Why or why not: for Reason 
6. How: In what way (how so) or length (how long did you attend, how far did you go? How often, etc.) 

If you want clarification on something, you can ask questions like: ‘what do you mean by that? Can you give any other examples to elaborate on your preference? Etc. 

5. Show your interest in the conversation by using general conversation tips.

Whenever you ask for a follow-up question, it is crucial to show the other person that you are interested in knowing the answer. This is done by nodding your head or passing occasional smiles. It’s recommended to stay in touch with the latest news to ask relevant questions in your conversation. You can even use sentences like ‘tell me more about this, ‘this sounds quite interesting’ etc. to keep the conversation going. 

6. Frame the question in a different way to ask it again.

If you feel that the person has more to tell about a topic, but they haven’t talked about that yet, you can frame the question differently and ask again. For this, you can use synonyms, like risk can be interchanged with worries and other light words. 

• Put the person into someone’s shoes and give a factual situation
• Delve into an experience to get more insights etc. 

For instance, A told you about his recent interview, but you are unsure whether it went well or bad. So, you can paraphrase the question and ask again. E.g., Oh, so you want to say that the interview you gave yesterday went well and you have a high probability of selection. 

When should you avoid follow-up questions in a casual conversation? 

Follow-up questions are indeed essential for a conversation, but sometimes you need to give some space to the other person. In that case, you can avoid asking follow-up questions. These situations are: 

1. When they share a very personal thing like recent death, divorce, family problem, etc. In this case, you should show some sympathy and support rather than asking questions. 
2. If there is a sudden silence, don’t ask follow-up questions instantly. Maybe the other person is taking some time to respond. 

Examples of follow-up questions based upon the purpose: 

1. Clarification/Explanation

When you want clarity over some topic or you did not understand what the other person just said, you can ask clarification or explanation questions. You have to sound curious and respectful to seek the proper response from the other person. Some of the example questions that you can ask for getting clarity are: 

1. What do you mean by ‘the statement they have just said’
2. Please tell me more about this thing. 
3. Paraphrase the statement that they told you and ask if you are right. 

E.g Just making sure that I get your point. So you said that you like movies but not romantic ones. Am I right? 

d. Can you explain this through an example? 

2. For Reason

When you want to know the reason for a particular statement, you can ask, “Why do you think this should happen” or 

What are your reasons for taking this stand? 

“How did you come to know about this? 

For what reason are you proposing this solution? Etc. 

3. Asking a Hypothetical Question.

Sometimes you can ask a hypothetical question to know about the thinking of the other person. You can ask, 

“What would you do if….

If you are put in this situation, what would be your response, etc. 

What challenges/tasks have you encountered in your previous role? Etc. 

How to ask relevant follow-up questions in an interview if you are the interviewer?

If you are an interviewer, you need to analyze the personality of the candidate to make a rational selection. For this, follow-up questions can come in very handy. Rather than asking frequently asked questions like what are your strengths, weaknesses, goals, etc. you can know more if you ask relevant follow-up questions. So here’s a brief guide to asking better follow-up questions in an interview: 

1. Try to ask an original question differently to know more about the candidate.

When you are not sure whether the candidate has replied honestly to the answer or you want to know more, you should ask the question again in a different manner. You can begin your question by saying, “Let me ask differently, why do you aspire to work with us (or any other question).”

The interviewee will come to know that his response is not clear, and he has to elucidate. You would learn a lot about candidate behavior by this tactic. 

2. Connect the dots of their answer and ask how their skills will be relevant to the workplace: 

Another great way to get in-depth insights about the candidate is to connect the dots and ask how their skills will help the company. This tact will cast an impression on the candidate that you are interested in his response and listening carefully. For example, “So did you mean this when you referred to your experience (or any other thing). 

Adding to that, whenever they mention some skills like hard work, you have to ask why the skill is relevant for the company. You can ask, “How do you feel your detail-oriented approach would help the company?” or “what will be the implications of your organizational nature for the company.” 

These types of connecting the dot and implication-based questions will help know the candidate. So you should ask more and more of these questions to the interviewee. 

What are some of the best follow-up questions if you are an interviewee? 

If you are going for an interview and get a chance to ask some follow-up questions, you can ask the following types of questions: 

• Work or Job-Related Questions (About the responsibilities, expectations, job duties, etc.) Examples are: 

• What are the crucial skills for this role? 
• How to become successful in the given position? 
• What software do I need to be well-acquainted with for this job? 
• Can you give insights about daily responsibilities and duties? 
• Who would I need to report in this role? 
• What are the expected challenges in this position? 
• Are there any employee retreats, seminars, or workshops in the company? 
• How’s the onboarding process in this role? 
• Will I get training and growth opportunities in this position? 

• Questions for rules and regulations of the company: 

• What are the working hours and the dress code? 
• Who are your target audience and top competitors?
• What are the greatest opportunities and threats for the company right now? 
• Can you elaborate more on the mission statement of the company? 
• How is the performance of an employee reviewed in your company? 
• Are there any specific skills that are crucial for growth in this career? 

• Questions to ask from the interviewer once he is done: 

• Do you want to ask anything else from me? 
• When can I expect to get a reply from your company? 
• How long are you working here? 
• Can you elaborate on the company culture? 
• Are there any challenges that you would like me to know? 

Follow-up questions to ask about your selection after the interview round: 

Once your interview is done, there is a constant fear about selection. Therefore we need to confirm the selection from the interviewer. You can either ask for the tentative dates of confirmation while leaving the interview room or ask follow-up questions after the first or second interview. You can send follow-up questions in e-mail or ask on a phone call. 

Some relevant follow-up questions about the selection process that you can ask are: 

1. Sir, is my resume reviewed? When can I expect the beginning of interview rounds? 
2. When can I expect the results of the hiring process? 
3. Do you need any clarifications on my skill set, employment history, or education? 

Don’t forget to mention your name and the reason for sending the follow-up question. Also, give some time to the company to confirm whether you’re hired or not because they are usually very busy. If they don’t reply in a reasonable time, then you should send the follow-up question. 

Examples of follow-up questions that you can ask from your customer: 

Asking follow-up questions from a customer is a great idea to improve your product and correct the lacunas. Some of the open-ended follow-up questions to ask from your customers are: 

1. How do you feel we can increase the quality of our product? 
2. If you are given a chance to change one thing about our company’s product, what would you change and why? 
3. Can you name three words that would describe our product?
4. Were you able to get all the features that you were looking for in our product? 

This way, you will get deeper insights into the areas where you can improve. You can even ask closed questions like: 

1. How would you rate this product? 
2. Would you like to recommend our product or service to your friends and relatives? 
3. Was the product able to meet your expectations? Etc. 

Conclusion

Follow-up questions are beneficial in our life. Different follow-up questions can serve a variety of purposes. You can frame them according to the situation through the guide mentioned above. Once you have started using follow-up questions in your conversation, you will start feeling comfortable in talking with unknown people and make sense of their words.