TELL ME ABOUT YOUR QUESTIONS

One of behaviors under the category of Listening, and one at the level of three (3), is “hearing a client’s questions.” What makes that important is that when a client poses a question to himself, it is probably an area of actual and genuine thinking within that person. And, there are often some attempted answers which the person has tried or at least considered. So when you hear the question, invite the person to respond by saying, “And your answer is...?”

Now what happens about half of the time is that the client does not even hear her own question. So you have to call attention to the question. You repeat the sentence (an acknowledgment) so that the person hears himself and then you again say, “And your answer is...” When she says that she doesn’t know, you don’t leave it and move on. No. Instead suggest that she guess. “Well, take a guess. What would you guess might be an answer? Any ideas?”