My 20 Favorite Questions to Ask Clients

You build trust and gain understanding through asking great questions. Asking the right questions greatly influences the success of a conversation.

Powerful questions help you identify real issues you might be avoiding, and recognize solutions you might be ignoring.

When I was going through the life coach certification process, I was encouraged to keep a list handy of my favorite questions. This list has been refined for over twenty years, and I still keep it handy for inspiration. 

Here are 5 things to keep in mind when asking questions.

1. Great questions often start with a "what" or a "how" and follow up with "can you give me an example?", or some form of "can you tell me more?"
2. Having 2 or 3 powerful questions prepared in advance eases anxiety.
3. Powerful questions are positive, clear, fun to ask, and future-oriented.
4. If I'm not genuinely curious about the answer, I shouldn't ask the question.
5. Great questions are open-ended. They don't lead to a "yes" or "no" answer; therefore, they challenge the other person to think.

"To ask the right question is already half the solution to a problem." - Carl Jung

My 20 Favorite Questions

Questions 1 - 10

1. What's an issue you're facing that, if you figured it out, would make a huge difference?
2. What opportunities do you have right now?
3. How would you act if you were 10 times bolder?
4. Describe, in detail, your ideal life in 1, 3, 5 or 10 years?
5. How do you want to be remembered, by those you love, when you're gone?
6. What changes do you need to make to have the life you want?
7. What does "success" in this area look like?
8. What's important to you about accomplishing this?
9. What do you want?
10. What do you like about yourself (interests, life experiences, personality traits, etc.)?

If you've found these questions helpful so far, you'll love our 50 Excellent & Fun Relationship-Building Questions.

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Questions 11 - 20

11. What energizes you? (i.e., after you engage this activity, you're encouraged)
12. If you had success in this area in 90 days, what changes would you have made?
13. If you were more confident, how would people know?
14. How can you view that differently? What's another perspective?
15. What has worked in the past here?
16. What else? Please tell me more about that.
17. What support do you need? How can you get that support?
18. What would your ideal daily schedule look like?
19. If you are saying "yes" to that, what are you saying "no" to?
20. What would you do here if success were guaranteed?