Conversational / Generative Questions

Questions in collaborative therapy are asked not to gather information and not to direct the client to the "right" answer, but to open a space of dialogue. Such questions are generative: they bring forth new meanings right in the process of the client's answering. A question is an invitation to mutual inquiry, not an instrument of management or control of the conversation. Anderson described this as "questions that are born from the conversation itself", not from a theory or technique. Each question arises from what the client has just said.

Step-by-step guide

1. Listen to what the client is saying — without planning the next question in parallel
2. Ask questions that arise from the client's own account, not from technique or theory
3. Phrase questions softly, in the form of curiosity: "I am curious.", "I wonder."
4. Allow a pause after the question — do not rush the answer
5. Watch: does the question open something new? If not — change direction

When to use

• When the client is "stuck" in a habitual narrative
• When you want to understand something more deeply, without leading to a ready answer
• When the problem seems "stuck" and unchanging
• When inquiring into the meaning of the client's words and concepts

Key phrases

Follow-up questions

Alternative phrasings