Crisis Situations and the Benefits of Asking Open-Ended Questions

Crisis situations happen every day, and it is not surprising that you may be called upon to act as a type of impromptu counselor.

But whether the crisis situation involves a random act of violence, for example, or is about something less life-threatening like a friend with a broken heart, there are benefits to asking open-ended questions.

This is because, whether you are a professional counselor or not, open-ended questions allow the person in crisis to truly focus on his or her emotional experience.

Open-Ended Questions Defined

Open-ended questions are those which require more than a yes or no response. They can be beneficial in a crisis situation because they open the door for the other person to ramble on if they feel like it instead of being limited by closed-ended questions.

Open-ended questions provide emotional catharsis to the crisis situation.

For example, "how can I help" is an open-ended question that would benefit a heart broken friend more than just asking, "Isn't he a jerk?"

Open-ended Questions as Part of Being a Good Listener

Asking open-ended questions in a crisis situation proves that you are a good listener. This is because open-ended questions put the emphasis on the person's own ideas about what has happened to them, why they feel like they are in a crisis.

Asking open-ended questions treats the person with respect instead of just alienating them with a "This is what you should be doing" attitude. Being a good listener by asking open-ended questions is the first step in handling a crisis situation.

Bringing Out the Details of Crisis

A person in crisis is most likely being overwhelmed by conflicting emotions of hurt and anger. "How may I help you," once again, is an open-ended question which lets the person focus on the details of the situation rather than being lost in the ambivalent magnitude of the crisis.

Because open-ended questions bring out the details of the crisis, they give the person hope that the same situation won't happen again. It is possible to pinpoint the mistakes that were made and avoid them in the future.

Again, helping someone in crisis to overcome intense considerations of hurt and self-condemnation is part of being a good listener.

In conclusion, crisis situations happen every day. Whether they are life-threatening or not, you can easily be put in the position to offer effective emotional support to other people.

Crisis situations benefit from asking open-ended questions because these provide an emotional catharsis for the person by letting them describe what they think is wrong from their own point of view.