Formulate questions. Construction of interrogative sentences. Forming a general question with modal verbs

To express your thoughts in any language, affirmation, negation, exclamation or question are used. The last type of sentence is of particular interest, since interrogative sentences or interrogative sentences are divided into five types of questions. These types of questions are English language are of great importance, so ignorance of them will cause many problems when trying to establish contact with a native speaker. To avoid this problem, let's look at all types of questions in English using examples.

Interrogative sentences are necessary to obtain the necessary information, which may concern both the object or action itself, and additional details about this object (its characteristics) or action (time, place, method of its implementation). It is for all these purposes that there are the following 5 types of questions in English.

General Question or General question

General Question or General question in English is a question that can be answered with “yes” or “no”. This type of question is called general because it is impossible to obtain any detailed information using it.

General questions in English do not require the use of a question word; the question is based solely on an auxiliary verb, which can vary depending on tense and number. Difficulties with how to ask a general question rarely arise because this type occurs all the time. General questions in English are constructed according to the following scheme:

As an auxiliary verb for general issue the verb do appears, which, as mentioned earlier, has past and present forms. To form this type of question with do, you simply take an affirmative sentence and put an auxiliary verb in front of it.

However, if in a present tense affirmative sentence the subject implies the 3rd person singular or is expressed by the pronouns it, she, he, and the verb has an ending -s, this ending passes to the auxiliary verb, turning do into do es .

An auxiliary verb can be expressed by the verb to be:

Modal verbs can also be used as auxiliary verbs. Here are some of them:

The exceptions are the modal verbs have to, used to, need to. To form general questions with them, the auxiliary verb do is required:

To form a question with Perfect tenses, the verb have comes first. If there are two auxiliary verbs in a sentence, only the first one is placed before the subject of the question:

There can be two answers to the General Question type:

Because of this limited choice of answers, this type of question is also called Yes/No Question. In negative answers, the auxiliary verb and the particle tend to merge.

A couple more examples of this type:

Alternative question or Alternative question

Alternative question or Alternative question is a question that offers a choice (alternative) of objects / persons / qualities / actions. Its main feature is the presence of the conjunction or (or). You can ask a question to any member of the proposal.

If you have figured out how to ask a general question in English, it will not cause you any difficulties, since it is structured in a similar way, only in its composition it has options for choosing with a conjunction.

Did Mary send me the message, or did Helen? (Did Mary or Helen send me a message?)	Question to the subject
Should they walk or run? (Should they walk or run?)	Question to the predicate
Do you prefer tea or coffee? (Do you prefer tea or coffee?)	Question for addition
Do we have homework in Math or English? (Were we asked anything in mathematics or English?)	Question for addition
Are you sad or just tired? (Are you sad or just tired?)	Question for definition
Is it warmer here or there? (Is it warmer here or there?)	Question about the location
Does she have a birthday in June or July? (Is her birthday in June or July?)	Question about the timing

If the question refers to the subject, then a modal verb is also placed before the second subject.

It is impossible to answer such questions with a simple “yes” or “no,” so the answer must be complete.

Special Question or Special Question

Special Question or Special Question in English is a question that requires a detailed answer. Special questions in English are used to obtain additional information and always contain a question word.

To construct special interrogative sentences in English, the following scheme is used:

Interrogative words include words such as:

what - what	What is love? (What is love?)
why - why	Why do you always run away from problems? (Why do you always run from problems?)
where - where	Where are you going to give the money? (Where are you going to give the money?)
when - when	When will the number of votes be known?
how - how	How are you going to justify yourself? (How are you going to justify yourself?)
whose - whose	Whose idea was this? (Whose idea was this?)
whom – to whom / with whom / whom	Whom are you looking for? (Who are you looking for?)
which - which one	Which toy do you want? (Which toy do you want?)

The question word who can be used in special questions for the future tense or in the passive voice.

Instead of individual question words, they can be used question phrases. There are quite a lot of them in the English language, so let’s look at how to make sentences with only some of them:

Notice that many question words begin with the letters wh, therefore this type of sentence is also known as WH Questions.

Unlike alternative questions, in which the answer is already hidden and all that remains is to make a choice, the type of special questions requires a detailed “independent” answer.

Who Question or Question to the subject

Who Question or Question to the subject is a question that does not require an auxiliary verb. This type is formed by the question words who (who) and what (what).

Questions to the subject should be written according to the following scheme:

To make it easier to figure out how to ask this question, just come up with an affirmative sentence and replace the subject with a question word. Since question words imply the 3rd person singular, remember to add the ending -s to verbs and use the appropriate form of the verb to be (is and was).

Disjunctive Question or Dividing Question

Disjunctive Question or Dividing question is a question that is used to test assumptions, dispel doubts, or be sarcastic. This type is very popular because by using it, the speaker is not asking a question directly.

If the above 4 types of questions in English started with a question word or auxiliary verb, this one starts with a subject. Such questions consist of two parts, separated by a comma, hence the name.

The first part of the question consists of an affirmative or negative sentence. The second part is added to the sentence, consisting of an auxiliary or modal verb with a pronoun. Accordingly, the question itself is hidden in the second part, which in Russian can be translated as “isn’t it true?”, “isn’t it?”, “isn’t it so?”

Such a short question in English is called a “tag”, and the type of questions itself is sometimes called Tag Questions. Alternative name This type is Tail Questions, in which the short answer at the end is compared to a tail.

To construct such proposals, the following table is used in two ways:

It is important to note that the second part uses the same verb as the first. In a short negative question, the verb and the particle not merge.

Let's look at examples:

1st method
You like her, don’t you?	You like her, don't you?
We will reach the goal, won’t we?	We'll get there, won't we?
Gagarin was the first human to fly in space, wasn’t he?	Gagarin was the first man to fly into space, wasn't he?
I did a mistake that day, didn’t I?	I made a mistake that day, didn't I?
You remember the main motions, don’t you?	You remember the basic movements, right?
2nd method
I didn’t kiss her yesterday at the party, did I?	I didn't kiss her last night at the party, did I?
You're not going to get in my way, are you?	You're not going to get in my way, are you?
You aren't serious now, are you?	You're not serious now, are you?

However, this type of question has its own pitfalls that need to be taken into account:

• When such a question is formed with the pronoun I (I), a short answer will be given general rule, while a short negative answer will use the verb are with the particle not ;

• When using the verb have, there are two options depending on which language you prefer: British or American English;

• If there are two auxiliary verbs in a sentence, the first is used in the second part;

• If the main part with a verb without negation contains words that imply this negation, the second part will be positive. These words include: nothing (nothing), no one (nobody), nobody (nobody), never (never), hardly (barely), barely (barely), rarely (rarely), rarely (seldom);

• If the sentence in the first part begins with Let’s (Let us), then in the second part it is necessary to put “shall we”;

• There are cases when disjunctive questions can also be used with sentences in the imperative mood. In such cases, can, can’t, will, would are used for orders and requests in the second part, and won’t for invitations;

• If you are already completely confused with this type of sentence, there is one win-win option for the verbs to be and have in the present tense - “ain’t”. This negation is universal because it supersedes all other possible options. Nowadays this negation is sometimes found with the verb do.

However, this method should be used in moderation; such a design will not be suitable for holding formal meetings, nor will it be suitable for writing an essay. Therefore, if difficulties still arise, try doing exercises on dividing questions and creating your own examples.

You need to answer the dividing questions briefly:

If you are also at the stage of mastering other types of questions in the English language, you can use another tricky technique - interrogative intonation. Even if this method is not acceptable from a grammatical point of view, you will be understood and answered.

These were all 5 types of questions in English. As you can see, there are relatively many ways to form them. You may prefer and use certain types more often because, for example, for situations in Everyday life general and specific questions are the most commonly used, but knowledge of all possible types will definitely not hurt you, making it much easier to understand the language. AND last tip for today: don’t be afraid to ask questions, because thanks to them, communication begins, and therefore practice.

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One of the most important rules English grammar – order of words in a sentence. Once you master it, you will learn to avoid a large number of mistakes.

In English, the word order in affirmative and interrogative sentences is different.

Today we will look at word order in interrogative sentences. I will share with you the simplest algorithm for composing questions in English, once you get acquainted with which you can easily convert English affirmative sentences into interrogative ones.

Algorithm for composing English questions

The algorithm consists of only 3 steps and one small but important note.

The most wonderful thing is that the algorithm works regardless depends on what grammatical tense the verb is in the sentence, or what voice is used (active or passive)! You can easily verify this by looking at the examples in each step.

If there is a modal verb in a sentence, to form a question we put it at the beginning of the sentence.

Let me remind you that modal verbs include the verbs can, may, might, must, should, would.

• He can walk. -> Can he walk?
• She should have listened. -> Should she have listened?
• They might have been invited to the party. -> Might they have been invited to the party?
• He would like to come to the party. – Would he like to come to the party?

In sentences that contain an auxiliary verb, move it to the beginning of the sentence to form a question.

• Everybody is watching. -> Is everybody watching?
• They have worked hard. -> Have did they work hard?
• He has finished work. -> Has he finished work?
• Everybody has been working hard. -> Has Has everyone been working hard?

• He has been singing. –> Has has he been singing?
• English is spoken all over the world. -> Is English spoken all over the world?
• The windows have been cleaned. -> Have have the windows been cleaned?
• They will have arrived by now. -> Will have they arrived by now?
• The task will be accomplished soon. -> Will the task be accomplished soon?

The situation is slightly different with sentences in which the verb is in Present Indefinite or Past Indefinite. In this case, the auxiliary verb is not used in the affirmative sentence.

But to form a question you will need to use an auxiliary verb ( Do or does), and just like in the previous step, put it at the beginning of the sentence.

IMPORTANT NOTE!

If we are talking about a verb To be, which in a particular situation is not an auxiliary verb, but carries Semantic load (meaning “to be, to be”) - then to form a question this verb is simply moved to the beginning of the sentence. The semantic verb “to be” does not need the support of an auxiliary verb, which is why it is also called “strong”.

For example:

• Her eyes are blue. -> Are her eyes blue?
• He is from London. -> Is he from London?

More about forming verb forms To be, about the construction of affirmative, negative and interrogative sentences - in the article “”.

Test for knowledge of forms of the verb to be -.

Education of special issues

Above we talked about education. common verbs, that is, those to which you can get the answer “Yes” or “No”.

The algorithm also works with special questions. Special questions begin with a question word ( who, when, why, where, what, how).

The only difference between special questions and general ones is that at the very beginning of the sentence (before the verb) question word.

Where is he going?

What will they be doing in Florida?

When might he come back?

I hope that after reading this article it will be easier for you to form interrogative sentences in English.

Has it become clearer to you how questions are formed in English? Write what you think about this in the comments.

Other grammar knowledge tests can be found in "".

A question that requires a "YES" or "NO" answer. In our case - “Do they go to Sochi every summer? - Yes. - No.”
In Russian, to ask this question, we simply change the intonation, but the word order remains the same.
In English, to ask a general question, you need to place the auxiliary verb first in the sentence.

So, let's look at our proposal and determine the time. Present Simple. The auxiliary verbs of this tense are “do” and “does”. For the pronoun "they" - "do".

We get: “Do they go to Sochi every summer?”
Answer: “Yes, they do” - “Yes.” "No, they don't" - "No."

Note! In English there are " strong verbs", which do not require an auxiliary verb. These are almost all modal verbs ("can", "may", "must", etc.) and the verb "to be" (or rather its forms).

2) Alternative question. Alternative Question

A matter of choice. I’ll show you with our example: “DO THEY or WE go to Sochi every summer?”, “Do they DRIVE or FLY to Sochi every summer?”, “Do they go to Sochi or Murmansk every summer?”, “They go to Sochi every SUMMER or WINTER?

Conclusion: we can set an alternative to each member of the sentence. In this case, we always use the conjunction “or” - “or”. Remember it!

Let's summarize... What to ask alternative question, we bring forward the auxiliary verb (as in the general question) and do not forget to set an alternative to any member of the sentence using the conjunction “or”.

We get: “Do we or they go to Sochi every summer?”
or: "Do they go to Sochi or Murmansk every summer?"

3) Dividing question. Tag-question

Question with a “tail”)) We translate the tail “Isn’t it?”
A dividing question is constructed using the following formula:

our sentence unchanged + comma + tail?

What kind of tail is this? It consists of 2 words: an auxiliary verb and a pronoun.

Let me explain with our example:
"They go to Sochi every summer."

First of all, it is necessary to accurately determine the time.. In our case - Present Simple.. auxiliary verbs "Do"/"Does".. "They" - "Do". Let's look at our sentence again and determine whether it is negative or affirmative.. Affirmative means our tail will be negative! If the sentence were negative, the auxiliary verb would become positive, i.e. without the negative particle "not".

We complete our sentence with the pronoun from the 1st part - “they”. Attention! If in the first part of the sentence the subject is a noun, replace it with a pronoun (for example, “a table” - “it”, “books” - “they”, “Mom” - “she”).

They go to Sochi every summer, don't they?
(They go to Sochi every summer, don't they?)

Note! If the role of subject and predicate is “I am”, in the tail we write “...., aren”t I?”

4) Special question. Special Question

A question in which the speaker requests specific information. (“Where do they go every summer?”, “Who goes to Sochi every summer?”, “When do they go to Sochi?”).

A special question is often called a "Wh-Question". This is due to the fact that almost all question words begin with the letter combination “Wh”.

For example:
what? - What? Which?
where? - Where? Where?
why? - Why?
which? - which?
who? - Who?
how? - How?
when? - When?

Special question formula:
Question words + general question?

"Where do they go to every summer?"
"When do they go to Sochi?"

Special question to the subject.
"Who goes to Sochi every summer?"

We will consider this type of special question separately, since it has a different structure:

Who/What + rewrite the sentence without a subject.

Attention!!! The most important thing is Who/what - 3rd person, singular! Do you remember that in the Present Simple in this case the ending “-s/-es” is added to the verb!

We get: "Who goes to Sochi every summer?"

“Were you at work today? Have you fed the cat? Can I take your pen? She is a student?" - every day we ask hundreds of these questions to our friends, colleagues and family members.

In English these questions are called general questions because with the help of them we find out general information about a person/thing. I will tell you how to construct such questions correctly so that you can learn to ask them yourself.

In the article you will learn:

• What are general questions

What are common questions in English?

A general question is asked to obtain general information. Hence the name itself - “ general".

For example: Will you go to the cinema?
(We do not specify when and where, we find out general information)

This question requires an answer " Yes" or " No" Therefore, sometimes such a question is not called a general question, but a yes/no question.

Attention: Confused about English rules? Find out how to easily understand English grammar.

How to ask a general question in English?

Let's look at three options for creating a general question.

1. Formation of a general question using auxiliary verbs

Auxiliary verbs are words that are not translated, but only serve as pointers. They help us determine:

• Time of what is happening (present, future, past);
• Number of characters (many or one).

Read more about auxiliary verbs in this article.

Each tense in English has its own auxiliary verb (do/does, have/has, did, had, will). Let's look at the auxiliary verbs of the three most commonly used tenses.

1. Present Simple Tense:

• does when we talk about someone in the singular (he, she, it)
• do, for all other cases (I, you, we, they)

2. Past Simple Tense: did

3. Future Simple Tense: will

To formulate a question for us you need to put the auxiliary verb first in the sentence.

The general question formation scheme will be as follows:

Auxiliary verb + actor + action performed

For example, we have affirmative sentences:

They go to school.
They go to school.

They went to school.
They went to school.

They will go to school.
They will go to school.

To ask a question, we put the auxiliary verbs do, did, will in first place:

Do do they go to school?
They go to school?

Did do they go to school?
Did they go to school?

Will do they go to school?
Will they go to school?

Let's look at a few more examples.

Affirmative sentence	Question
She gets up early. She gets up early	Does she get up early? Does she get up early?
They like coffee. They love coffee	Do do they like coffee? Do they like coffee?
We will go to the park. We'll go to the park.	Will we go to the park? Shall we go to the park?
He read this book. He read this book.	Did he read this book? Has he read this book?

You can find out more about the formation of questions during the Simple group here:

2. Formation of a general question in sentences with the verb to be

Also in English there is special kind verb - verb to be. We use it when we say that someone:

• Located somewhere (He's in the park)
• Is someone (She's a nurse)
• Is somehow (Grey cat)

Depending on the tense in which we use this verb, it changes its form:

• In the present tense - am, are, is
• In the past tense - was, were
• In the future tense - will be

If the sentence contains the verb to be, then the general question is constructed according to the following scheme:

Verb to be + character + place/state/phenomenon

To ask a question, we need to put in the sentence verb to be first. For example, we have affirmative sentences:

He is a doctor.
He is a doctor.

He was a doctor.
He was a doctor.

He will be a doctor.
He will be a doctor.

They were doctors
They were doctors.

We move is, was, will to the first place and get the question:

Is he a doctor?
He is a doctor?

Was he a doctor?
Was he a doctor?

Will he be a doctor?
Will he be a doctor?

Were are they doctors?
Were they doctors?

Here are some more examples:

Read more about the verb to be in each tense in the following articles:

3. Formation of a common issue with modal verbs

There are verbs in English that do not indicate an action (go, read, study), but show an attitude towards these actions (must go, can read, should study):

• can/could - I can
• must - must
• may/might - I can
• should - follows, etc.

Sentences containing such wordsdo not require an auxiliary verb(do/does, did, will, etc.). To formulate a questionwe simply move the modal verb to the first place in the sentence.

The question pattern will be as follows:

Modal verb + actor + action being performed

For example, take the affirmative sentence :

When asked can, should, may endurein first place:

Here are some more examples.

Affirmative sentence	General question
He should go to this concert. He should go to this concert.	Should he go to this concert? Should he go to this concert?
She may take these books. She can take these books.	May did she take these books? Can she take these books?
They can buy it. They can buy it.	Can do they buy it? Can they buy it?

You can read more about modal verbs in this article:

Answers to common questions in English

The answer to a common question might be:

• positive (yes)
• negative (no)

It can also be:

• complete
• short

Short positive the answer is constructed according to the following scheme:

Yes + actor + auxiliary verb/modal verb/verb to be

Example sentences:

Did he wash his car? Yes, he did.
Did he wash his car? Yes.

Does she like sweets? Yes, she does.
Does she like sweets? Yes.

Is she a doctor? Yes, she is.
She is a doctor? Yes.

Can do you open a window? Yes, I can.
Can you open the window? Yes.

At negative short answer To auxiliary verbs the particle not is added. The construction scheme will be as follows:

No + actor + auxiliary verb/modal verb/verb to be + not

Did he wash his car? No, he did not.

Did he wash his car? No.

Does she like sweets? No, she does not.
Does she like sweets? Yes.

Is she a doctor? No, she is not.
She is a doctor? No.

Can do you open a window? No, I can't.
Can you open the window? No.

Complete positive answer looks like an affirmative sentence, only at the beginning of the sentence we put yes:

Did he wash his car? Yes, he washed his car.
Did he wash his car? Yes, he washed the car.

Does she like sweets? Yes, she likes sweets.
Does she like sweets? Yes, she loves sweets.

Is she a doctor? Yes, she is a doctor.
She is a doctor? Yes, she's a doctor.

Can do you open a window? Yes, I can open a window.
Can you open the window? Yes, I can open the window.

Complete negative answer looks like a negative sentence, only at the beginning of the sentence we put no:

Did he wash his car? No, he didn't wash his car.
Did he wash his car? No, he didn't wash the car.

Does she like sweets? No, she doesn't like sweets.
Does she like sweets? No, she doesn't like sweets.

Is she a doctor? No, she is not a doctor.
She is a doctor? No, she's not a doctor.

Can do you open a window? No, I can"t open a window.
Can you open the window? No, I can't open the window.

So, we have examined the entire theory concerning general issues. Now let's move on to practice.

Reinforcement task

Translate the following questions into English:

1. Did you go to school?
2. Is she in the park?
3. Can you turn off the music?
4. Are they smart?
5. Does she like roses?
6. Should I call him?
7. Should she do this?
8. Are we going to help him?

Leave your answers in the comments below the article.

You will learn:

• How to ask questions to get the right answers.
• What questions to ask to increase sales.
• How not to ask questions.
• What questions help foreign companies hire effective employees.
• How to apply the tactics of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Investigative Committee of asking questions to identify a liar during an interview.

If a person actively maintains a conversation and does not limit himself to neutral phrases, he seems supportive and interested in communication. We usually blame the interlocutor for failed communication. Few people think about whether they themselves asked the right questions in order to achieve mutual understanding.

How to ask questions correctly to get clear answers

Fairy tales from childhood teach how important it is to clearly formulate desires. Having grown up, we laugh at jokes in which funny situations arise due to the inability of the characters to ask the right questions.

The head of a large company went into the forest to pick mushrooms. He drove to the forest by car, left it on the side of the road and went deeper into the forest. He walked there for a long time, but after wandering for about six hours, he realized that he was lost and could not find his way to the car. On the bank of a stream under a tall pine tree, he saw a comfortable stump and sat down on it to rest. After some time, another mushroom picker came out to the place where he was sitting. The lost man rejoiced and asked him:

- Excuse me, can you tell me where I am?

Looking at him carefully, the mushroom picker replied:

- You are in the forest, on the bank of a stream. You are sitting on a stump standing under a tall pine tree.

- You must be a psychologist-consultant! - said the lost one.

- Wow! How did you find out? - asked a passerby.

- Everything you said, I knew before you. Your answer is technically correct, but completely unhelpful, and in fact I still don't know how to get out to my car.

- Aaah, well, you must be the president of a large company! - The consultant smiled.

- Exactly! How did you guess?

- Follow the thought: you see perfectly where you are, and yet you do not know where you are, and you ask about it, although you yourself know the answer that you will hear. You don’t know where to move next, but you don’t ask about it. In reality, you are in exactly the same position as before we met, but now you have turned your problem into my mistake and are blaming me!

An exaggerated but clear example when an adequate answer did not contain any useful information due to the incorrect formulation of the question.

Professional achievements in areas that involve active interaction with people directly depend on the ability to ask questions correctly. Career growth, success in business is achieved by those who have advanced communication skills and constantly improve them. IN social life You can’t do without this either. By asking a passerby for directions, you are more likely to get to your destination if you formulate the question correctly.

There are several types of questions. Below we will describe in detail the main ones: closed and open.

1. Closed questions:Who? When? Where? Which?

Closed questions require the choice of a specific answer consisting of one word or phrase. Such constructions limit the interlocutor in providing information about himself, but do not allow him to reveal his opinion.

“Helped you find a job extra education on course?"

“Do you know Spanish?”

“Have you participated in sales training?”

The answers do not require much preparation or thought; it all depends on the degree of frankness and the desire to provide reliable information about yourself.

At the beginning of the conversation, you need to ask closed questions in order to form a first impression based on the data received and build a further conversation strategy. With their help, a person’s general attitude towards active interaction is also checked.

Questionnaires, polls, and tests allow the use of only closed questions. If your goal is a lively dialogue, then you shouldn’t get carried away with them. At best, you will get a set of dry facts, at worst - irritation, boredom, and reluctance on the part of your interlocutor to waste time on you.

2. Open questions:How? Why? For what? How? Tell about..., Explain... and the like.

Alternating closed and open questions will help you establish contact and move on to an interesting, confidential conversation.

Open questions require a detailed answer consisting of several phrases or sentences. A person thinks about the answer, expresses his own point of view on given topic shows an emotional reaction.

The desire to talk about ourselves is embedded in most of us at the subconscious level, it is no coincidence that social media, blogs, messengers. By starting to ask open questions, you stimulate the thirst for self-presentation, help the interlocutor open up, and feel a greater degree of comfort.

There are situations when people seek to answer closed questions in detail without waiting for clarification from you. In such cases, when you begin to ask additional questions, the answers will be even more detailed and complete, indicating that you are doing the right thing and that your company is pleasant.

Open questions help manage the dialogue, determine the topic and direction of the conversation. Having learned about the recent trip of the interlocutor to another country, from a variety of options you can choose those questions that affect the aspects that interest you. For example: attractions, features of life, standard of living, available entertainment.

The ability to ask the right question can sometimes prevent even major conflicts. This is clearly demonstrated by the story told by General Lebed. In April 1989, Alexander Ivanovich commanded the 106th Tula Airborne Division, sent to the capital of Georgia to suppress anti-Soviet protests. “A crowd gathers in Tbilisi and shouts: “Look, your paratrooper ran three kilometers after the old woman and hacked her to death with a spatula! It’s written in the Dawn of the East!” I say: “Shall we yell or talk? If we yell, I’ll leave.” - "Lets talk". - “Then I have three questions. First: what kind of grandmother was it that was able to run three kilometers? Second: what kind of paratrooper was it that could not catch up with the grandmother for three kilometers? And the most main question“Dear Georgians: how is it that among you there was not a male warrior who would stand in the way of this scoundrel?”

Before asking a question, consider whether the answer really matters. Remember the nonverbal component of communication. Your movements, intonation, and facial expressions will show an attentive person that the conversation is formal in nature, and the information you asked about is completely unimportant to you.

Dialogue becomes productive only when there is mutual interest between the parties involved. The worst thing is when both interlocutors neglect each other. The only outcome of such a conversation will be regret about wasted time.

The practitioner tells

What 5 questions to ask a client so that he makes an order today, and not someday later?

Alexey Luttsev, CEO and owner of Alpina72, Tyumen

1. “When to schedule your object?”

The specificity of our work is such that it practically does not provide for unplanned urgent orders. Force majeure in the form of the need to clear the roof of snow or dangerous icicles rarely occurs. Customers most often do not think about planning and come to us with orders that should have been completed “yesterday.” We used to deal with this all the time. For example, you are preparing for an important event, and suddenly you discover that you need to wash the windows or chandeliers. The customer begins a frantic search for a company ready to get to work immediately. And our craftsmen work on schedule and do not stand idle waiting for orders.

2. “Do you want to avoid risks?” or “Do you want to solve your customers’ problems?”

The principle “prepare a sleigh in the summer and a cart in the winter” has not been canceled. In the summer season, it is better to wash windows and insulate apartments. Snow must be removed in a timely manner, and not during the spring thaw, when avalanches and icicles begin to fall on passers-by. We can wash the windows in winter, but the cost of the work will increase, even with a lower quality of work. This is what we try to convey to our customers.

3. “Do you want us to fulfill your request within three hours of receipt?”

We are interested in the customer entering into a long-term contract, so we talk about the benefits that he will receive in this case.

• At the request of clients with whom a contract has been concluded, departure is possible within three hours. Because time is no longer wasted on exchanging details, checking the counterparty and other formalities.
• For regular customers, a simple telephone request is sufficient.
• For regular customers there is a “Climber as a gift” promotion. We perform small but necessary work for the client for free. For example, ventilation prevention.
• Each paid invoice under the contract is accompanied by a chocolate bar as a gift.

4. “Do you want to know how else we can help you?”

The building requires constant maintenance and repair. We, as professionals, know what to pay attention to, and we explain to the customer what consequences may result from failure to complete a number of works. If additional services are included in the application, we provide a discount of 5 to 10% on the total invoice amount. And more often than not, additional services are just a bonus.

5. “What result do you want to get?”

Customers sometimes express their vision of how we should do the work. We may not argue, but we usually know how to save hundreds of thousands of rubles on solving a given problem. Apart from the experience of our own employees, difficult cases we can always use the advice of colleagues from other cities and countries. We do not hesitate to ask questions, this is an absolutely normal practice. We have repeatedly contacted the Tyumen Construction Academy and the Smoke Pipes Research Institute.

65% of our customers enter into contracts. They bring in 76% of the income. We have been working with some for 20 years. Competitors are trying to win by dumping, but our customers prefer to be confident in the quality of services, which they have already seen.

Through cold calling, we receive 18 appointments, 12 completed meetings, 6 orders and 4 return clients for every 100 calls.

The desire to get an order at any cost is fraught with reputational losses. If the customer is in doubt, it is better to refuse to work with him rather than chase short-term benefits.

How the ability to ask the right questions affects sales growth

Ask a lot of questions, clarify details, then your meetings with clients will be more effective. “Our research has shown that asking questions, more than any other communication style, influences sales success,” says Neil Rackham, world-renowned sales coach and consultant. We'll explain why asking is so important for salespeople.

Workshop: do you know how to ask questions?

• Play the recorder briefly during a meeting with a client.
• Then listen to the recording carefully. Mark every 20 seconds who is speaking: the buyer or you.
• Evaluate your lines. Note every 20 seconds that this moment you say: ask a question or inform the buyer.

Evaluation of the result.

• If you do more than 50% of the talking, your questioning skills are still far from perfect.
• If more than 50% of the time you are not asking, but rather providing information to the client, then you are acting as an “expert” and not listening to the client. This reduces the likelihood of concluding a deal.

Reasons why questions contribute to successful sales:

1. By answering questions, the buyer actively participates in the conversation. In effective meetings, the client does most of the talking.
2. Questions promote concentration. When there is a need to answer questions, a person is less distracted and less likely to lose the thread of the conversation.
3. Questions are a form of persuasion. Statements leave doubt because you are expressing your point of view, and with the help of correctly formulated questions, you will give the client the impression that he himself has come to the desired conclusion.
4. If you ask the right questions, you can find out more about the buyer's needs. Without understanding what the client expects from the purchase, you will not make a unique offer, and the deal will fall through.

IMPORTANT!

A need is any desire, need, or intention that a buyer plans to satisfy with a product or service. Therefore, in any sources and training programs, the correct identification of needs is highlighted as the first important stage of sales.

How to determine the success of a meeting with a client

There are certain outcomes of a meeting with a client.

• Order(clear success): the buyer enters into an agreement, makes a purchase, or clearly shows intention to do so: verbally agrees on the price and terms.
• Progress(there are signs of success): during the meeting no decision is made, but an event occurs that promotes progress towards a deal.

For example:

• Buyer agrees to attend a product demonstration.
• The client is ready to sample or test the product.
• You gain contacts with a higher-level decision maker or access to departments you couldn't reach before.

• Postponement(no clear signs of success): The buyer has not responded with a clear refusal, but does not show any initiative and does not agree to actions that would contribute to the progress of negotiations.

Standard phrase: “We are satisfied with everything, we will think about it and contact you ourselves when we are ready to make a decision.”

• Refusal(meeting failure): the sale did not take place. The client makes it clear that he is not interested in a second meeting and does not agree to organize it with the participation of other company decision makers.

IMPORTANT!

The criterion for success is the client’s actions, not words.

You have formulated your goals incorrectly if you consider meetings that ended in a delay to be successful.

The purpose of the meeting is for the client to take actions aimed at moving towards concluding a deal.

• How to become persuasive and awaken the sleeping leader within you

What questions should you not ask?

1. Too open-ended questions.

Let us illustrate this error with an anecdote.

There were mice living in the forest, and they were tired of everyone hurting them. They went for advice to the wisest inhabitant of the forest - the eagle owl.

- Owl, you know everything, help us. What should we do so that we are left alone and not offended?

Owl answers:

- Mice, become hedgehogs. Hedgehogs have needles, no one hurts them.

The delighted mice ran home. They came running and thought:

- How can we turn into hedgehogs?

I had to return to the owl.

- Wise owl, how can we become hedgehogs?

The owl waved them away.

- This is no longer a question for me. I'm not a tactician, I'm a strategist.

General questions sound something like this: “How are you?”, “Tell me something about yourself,” “What’s new?” It is difficult to expect to receive in response the information for which it was worth asking them. In most cases, they are regarded simply as a way to fill a pause when a person does not know where to start a conversation. There is a well-known joke that only a boring interlocutor will answer the question “How are you?” will really start telling you how he is doing.

2. Questions too difficult to start a conversation.

If you know the interlocutor well and circulate in a single information field, then you can ask difficult questions at any stage of the conversation. If you have to spend time explaining the essence of the issue, then it is better not to start the conversation with it.

3. Suggestive questions.

A leading question is one of the varieties of a closed question. In fact, it immediately indicates your opinion and provides only the option of agreeing with it.

"Rain on the street. You shouldn’t go to the theater in this weather, right?”

“You don’t think I’m deceiving you, do you?”

“Two workouts a week is enough, right?”

Leading questions are often used as a tool to manipulate the interlocutor. In business life, the ability to ask leading questions can be useful in order to direct the negotiations in the right direction. Constantly using them in your personal life, you will not achieve understanding with loved ones. Forced agreement will cause internal protest, and in the long term will lead to conflicts.

4. Known disagreement.

You find out in detail the opinions and arguments of your interlocutor, whose point of view you do not agree with in advance. Only after this do you express your position, depriving your opponent of the opportunity to respond to your considerations.

5. An ill-conceived question topic.

The ability to improvise during a conversation is a big plus. People who can easily and naturally ask questions without preliminary preparation, are rare. If we are not talking about innate talent, it is usually the result of training, systematic or unconscious learning of the rules of communication.

As you gain experience, it will become increasingly easier for you to quickly select the right questions as the conversation progresses. To begin with, it is better to think through them in advance and have homemade preparations. Then, in the eyes of your business partner, you will look like a competent specialist, and feel comfortable in friendly company.

How asking the right questions helps foreign companies hire strong salespeople

Vacancies for sales managers are most often found on hunting resources. Large companies are no less interested in strong salespeople than small private enterprises. It is important that the employee not only has sales skills, but also meets corporate culture company, did not create conflict situations in the team, and adequately perceived the plans set.

Selecting the right candidate is a serious task for HR managers and executives. The quality of information about competencies and personal qualities applicant. Properly conducted interviews reduce the risks of miscasting and help form effective teams.

The experience of foreign companies can and should be used when recruiting personnel. Below is a list of questions that are usually asked during interviews at Western companies. The list consists of three thematic blocks.

1. Questions about the applicant’s skills.

What do you do to stay updated with market news? A detailed answer will show that the candidate knows how to use information resources, even if he came from a different field.

Explain something to me. This is more of a task than a question. It will help to identify how structured a person is able to convey a concept or describe the stages of a process.

How much time did you spend building relationships with clients in your previous job? How much does it cost to find new customers? Why? The assessment of the answer depends on the company's preferences. For some, the ability to work with an existing customer base is important, while others need managers who can quickly find new customers. If a candidate uses one sales tactic over another, the hiring decision should be taken with caution.

What questions do you like to ask potential clients? The sales manager is used to operating different types questions. At a minimum, there should be several open-ended questions that help identify the needs of a potential buyer.

How do you handle objections? Dealing with objections is an important stage of sales. An experienced sales manager prepares in advance for possible objections from clients. The candidate's answer will indicate whether he has such training.

What place does social media play in your work? The times when applicants were afraid to mention VKontakte or Facebook during an interview are long gone. Social media is now a powerful sales channel. Even if the candidate has not used this client acquisition tool, it is in his best interest to demonstrate a willingness to work with it.

What role do you assign to social media content in sales? It doesn’t matter that a person is not active enough on his personal pages, does not post photos or posts. But active commenting or publications on professional topics will speak in favor of the candidate.

How do you research a potential client before a call or meeting? What information are you looking for? It is important that the candidate does not forget about personal information about the potential buyer. To conduct an effective meeting, an experienced manager will try to collect as much information as possible.

If you get this job, what will you do in the first month? It is difficult to hear anything extraordinary in response to this question. Nevertheless, it will be a plus if the candidate can tell you step by step about the planned first steps in the new place. Most companies provide training for newcomers, but a person who can independently navigate an unfamiliar environment is better suited for a sales position.

What do you think our company needs to fix or improve? The answer to this question will allow you to evaluate several competencies: the applicant’s preparedness for an interview in your company, creative and entrepreneurial potential, the level of ambition and self-esteem of the candidate.

What benefits does the company bring to the client? The answer will show whether the applicant researched the company's products and services before the interview, and will also reveal the degree of loyalty to the place of potential work.

What have you learned lately? If the candidate is not committed to learning new skills, the question will cause him difficulty, and you will immediately understand that this is a person who is not inclined to self-development.

What three assessment questions do you ask every prospect? The candidate may have worked previously in another area, but the answer to the question will demonstrate whether the manager knows how to classify customers.

2. Motivational questions.

What's worse: an unfulfilled monthly sales plan or dissatisfied customers? The question is difficult because both of these components are important. A competent manager understands the relationship between the company’s stable income and the number of satisfied customers. If the answer sounds readiness to carry out the plan by any means, such a candidate is doubtful.

What part of the sales process do you like least? The question serves to determine weaknesses applicant. It’s especially bad if the “unloved” stages are those that the company pays the most attention to.

What motivates you? Sometimes the question may be asked in the form of a list, in which the candidate must rank the types of motivation in descending order of importance. The test helps assess compatibility with the company's corporate culture. For example, if the work of the sales department is based on fierce competition between managers, a person who is motivated by positive assessments from colleagues will feel uncomfortable at work.

What do you want to achieve in your career? One of the main reasons for changing jobs, besides financial ones, is dissatisfaction career prospects in the previous place. The candidate's answer will give you an idea of ​​what ambitions they have for professional growth and whether your company can meet them.

Why did you decide to go into sales? The answer contains only mention of earnings - most likely the person is forced to work in sales. Downplaying the importance of the material component indicates that it will be difficult for the candidate to comply with the plans. Or the applicant answers insincerely.

How do you interact with colleagues? The most effective sales manager may be on the verge of dismissal if he provokes the team into constant conflicts. The purpose of the question is to assess potential problems in interaction with other company employees.

Do failures happen to you? The answer “I never have failures” will raise doubts about adequate self-esteem applicant. A story using an example of a life situation, how he got out of a difficult situation, what conclusions he drew from the mistakes he made, will show strengths candidate, his ability to critically evaluate his own actions.

What do you think is the role of training in the work of a sales manager? If a person “knows everything about sales”, he will not even go through the training period in your company.

What three adjectives would a former client use to describe you? The candidate's answer must contain the words "attentive", "competent" or their synonyms.

How would you describe the corporate culture at your previous job? The answer will demonstrate the candidate’s values, style of interaction with colleagues and management, and willingness to follow the corporate culture. Only critical reviews about the previous company will be an alarming sign that in a new place a person will also concentrate on the negative aspects of work.

Describe your ideal sales manager. The answer to this question will tell you about the applicant’s priorities, experience and professional goals.

What qualities should a salesperson have? If in the candidate’s answer you don’t hear anything similar to the words “control,” “ability to control emotions,” “customer satisfaction,” then you are unlikely to have the strong salesperson you are looking for.

What personal achievements are you proud of? The answer will show life values and the range of interests of the candidate. It is worth paying attention to what will be first on the list of achievements.

3. Situational questions.

Does your approach differ between short and long deal cycles? First of all, the candidate must understand what types of transactions exist. Even if he has previously worked in retail sales, where short-term transactions predominate, an experienced salesperson will model his actions in the long cycle.

When do you stop convincing a client? The assessment of the answer depends on how it is customary to work in your company. Stopping communications with a client after the first refusal is not persistence enough in any situation. Endless attempts at persuasion that cause negative emotions in customers will lead to a deterioration in the image of the company as a whole. Six to seven attempts is the most common practice when it makes sense to stop.

How do you maintain a good mood if you have a difficult day? The answer to the question will show how the manager will react to failed deals and how emotionally stable the candidate is.

Have you ever turned down a potential client? If so, why? The correct answer is yes. Selling a product that does not meet the customer’s needs, or entering into a transaction in which the company cannot fulfill its obligations, is fraught with conflict situations and monetary losses.

Who is the easiest person for you to sell to and why? An experienced seller will draw a generalized portrait of a buyer from a specific target audience. The beginner will tell you several examples from “real life”.

“Why didn’t the deal go through?” Have you asked this question to a potential client who never bought anything? A real sales manager is not afraid to ask such questions to clients. The desire to understand what did not suit the customer indicates the candidate’s inclination to analyze his actions and adjust further work based on this.

Think about your most difficult prospect. The candidate’s story will show whether he knows how to work with difficult customers. Is he able to forget about personal ambitions for the sake of results?

How could you exceed management's expectations in this position? Want to create a stellar team? Recruit managers who are pre-set to exceed the average results of salespeople in the company. The question will help determine how the candidate views his responsibilities and place on the team.

If you opened your own business tomorrow, what would it be? The question of owning your own business is natural. Having an entrepreneurial mindset is common among many sales managers. The purpose of this question is to see if the candidate can present business ideas and captivate listeners.

What's the best way to start a relationship with a potential client?“Collect detailed information, then contact the customer by phone, try to establish contact.” The candidate who answered in a similar way is suitable for you.

Sell ​​me something. Classic task. Try to ask the question in a way that maximizes the candidate's potential during the in-game sales process. Offer a choice of “product”, actively object, create non-standard situations for the “seller”.

Describe the sales process from start to finish. There are several interpretations of sales stages. It doesn’t matter which one the applicant starts telling. You evaluate how consistently and completely he will cover the topic.

Tell us about the objection that was most difficult for you to deal with. How did you end up filming it? The answer will demonstrate how the candidate handles difficult tasks.

Teach me something. Simply listing the benefits of a product or service is not enough to close a deal. Selling is a two-way process. A strong manager involves the buyer in this process. Thanks to this question, you will reveal the candidate’s ability to convey information in an interesting and intelligible manner, and to hold the attention of the interlocutor.

The practitioner tells

Two mandatory interview questions

Lydia Spevak, ex-training manager of the Comfort Shoes chain of stores

I practiced two mandatory questions, recruiting candidates for the position of sales manager.

How much money do you need to survive in Moscow? Applicants who answer: “Whatever you pay is enough” are not suitable for the company. The job advertisement indicates a fixed part of the salary and the opportunity to earn a percentage. A person whose salary is sufficient will not make any effort to earn interest. Then I could ask an additional question: “Are you ready to receive 5,000 rubles less than indicated in the ad?” An affirmative answer was grounds for refusal to hire. We were satisfied with candidates who announced an amount exceeding the minimum specified in the advertisement. Such a seller immediately expects a percentage and will try to earn it.

What emotions does the buyer experience when communicating with the seller? I think it is necessary to ask this question. It tests the applicant's empathy level. If the list was dominated negative emotions or the person found it difficult to answer at all, we did not hire such an employee because low level empathy.

Tactics for asking questions at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which helps identify liars

During interviews, applicants usually note a negative attitude towards alcohol, drugs, gambling, theft, and bribes. Using a scripted conversation, you can evaluate a person’s veracity. The main thing in the technique is to ask questions in a given sequence and carefully monitor the reaction to them. Gestures, facial expressions, intonation will show when a lie is told.

1. Neutral questions.

Neutral questions must be asked to understand how a person behaves in a calm state. This is a kind of “control point”. The difference between behavior during responses to neutral questions and emotional reactions during periods of stress will be the criterion for the test results.

Neutral questions: “What is your name?”, “How old are you?”, “What is your education?” Remember the behavior of a person when he answers simple questions in which he does not see any catch.

2. Conditionally neutral questions.

Questions: “What do you live for?”, “Why do you need a job?” and similar ones allow us to determine the psychological profile of a person.

The hysterical type typically answers: “I work to relax in the Maldives” or “To have fun.”

Employees with an epileptoid personality type will say: “To build a house.”

People of the paranoid type will start talking about implementing some kind of their own project.

Emotives will answer: “So that everyone can feel good.”

Employees with a schizoid psychotype will begin to reason: “What do you mean by this! Which goal out of 20 are we talking about?”

Psychologists do not distinguish good or bad types. The main thing is that the person’s psychological profile meets the requirements of his position.

If the candidate is hyperthymic, with mobility nervous system, and you offer him monotonous, monotonous work, then get ready for the fact that he will do it poorly or leave in a couple of weeks.

By identifying which psychotype an employee belongs to, you can predict what lying strategy he will choose. This is clearly systematized in the table below.

When a person lies, he:

• spends more time thinking about test questions than simple ones;
• during test questions, the whole body tenses, fearing direct questions;
• breathing and pulse quicken, the color of the skin changes, the person blinks frequently, swallows, coughs before answering;
• sweats even in a cool room;
• often changes position, leans away and turns sideways, leans back in the chair.

Such signs, not necessarily all of the above at the same time, indicate a state of stress. If a person tells the truth, during the block of neutral and testing questions he will remain calm, his line of behavior will not change.

3. Issues of social assessment.

Questions like “Have you at least once wanted to take something that belonged to you?”, “Have you ever had the idea of ​​using your position to promote a friend up the career ladder?”, “Does anyone among your friends and relatives regularly drink alcohol? » will help outline the range of topics exciting people. When answering questions related to these topics, people try to idealize themselves.

4. Veiled questions.

In cases where there are doubts about the true motives of the transaction, for example, when selling a business, it is better for the interlocutor not to be aware of the verification. Questions should be asked as if they were having a simple conversation.

To check your partners, you can ask:

• “How long will it take to get back the money we invested?”
• “What are the guarantees of return on investment?”
• “What debt repayment schedule do you propose?”

If a potential partner gives quick, clear answers, supporting them with numbers, the deal can be concluded.

If what has been said is additionally reflected on paper in the form of diagrams and calculations, then the partner inspires trust.

Evasive, hesitant answers, appeals to circumstances whose likelihood of occurrence are difficult to verify are signs that the prospective partners most likely do not plan to fulfill the terms of the deal. It is better to abandon such projects immediately.

5. Projective questions.

Internal inspections are carried out when an employee is suspected of theft, bribery or other corporate crimes. Projective questions are used to find out the truth. For example: “Your opinion, how should the person who committed this theft be punished?” An innocent employee will most likely respond: “We should go to jail!” The tone of the answer will be harsh, regardless of the personality type. The guilty person, projecting the question onto himself, will try to soften the answer: “Maybe impose a fine for the first time.”

6. Direct questions.

The check ends with direct questions: “Did you steal?”, “Did you take the bribe?”, “Did you forge the documents?”

On the block test questions you will be practically sure whether the person is guilty or not. It is worth asking direct questions in order to gain recognition. There is a man sitting in front of you who has portrayed an ideal employee, but an unexpected direct question: “Did you steal?” - causes such a violent reaction that there is no doubt about his involvement.

A liar is afraid of direct questions. He is waiting for them, and you artificially prolong the waiting time by asking about something else. By the last stage, the psyche is exhausted, the person is practically unable to control his emotions and remain calm. Even if before that he studied various techniques for deceiving a lie detector or tips from books on NLP.

The practitioner tells

What to do with the culprit

Evgeniy Spiritsa, Head of the International Center for Lie Detection and Profiling

How to deal with a guilty person? We recommend weighing the pros and cons before dismissing an employee. As an example, I’ll tell you one story. A friend was looking for it. We found a woman of an emotive type, with the necessary experience, correct and pleasant to talk to. They hired her, and a few days later $10,000 disappeared from the cash register. I was asked to help clarify all the circumstances.

I begin to understand and clearly see that the woman is very ashamed and bad. The eyes dart, the shoulders and head are lowered. I ask right away: “Natalya Ivanovna, did you take the money?” No complex survey was required. Emotives usually commit crimes not for their own benefit. It turned out that her son got into trouble, and money was needed for a lawyer so that her son would avoid prison. An acquaintance wanted to fire her immediately, but I persuaded him not to do this. He explained: “If you give her one more chance, you won’t find a more reliable worker!” He listened, helped this woman solve her problems, and lent her money. Since then she has worked for him for many years. Lately- as a commercial director.

Keep in mind that the method works if you understand the person's habitual behavior before you make a verdict. Can't be taken out of the general psychological portrait one or two signs.

Information about the experts

Alexey Luttsev graduated from Tyumen State University majoring in geography. He organized a sport climbing section at the Palace of Creativity. In 2000, he founded the current company with his students.

Alpina72 LLC. Scope of activity: work at heights (washing windows and facades, repairing interpanel seams, cleaning roofs from snow, construction works); industrial cleaning. Number of personnel: 19; an additional 10 people are involved in individual projects. Area of ​​windows and facades washed since 2013: 257,000 sq. m. Length of interpanel seams insulated since 2013: 27,000 linear meters.

Directive Consulting LLC. Area of ​​activity: Internet marketing for complex markets. Number of staff: 31. Number of clients: more than 400 companies (Azbuka Zhili, Microsoft dealers, Russian representative offices of European factories, etc.).

Evgeny Spiritsa graduated from Tula State University. Since 1994, he has been providing consultations for business owners, psychological diagnostics of enterprise personnel, and business training in various areas. Founded a method of non-instrumental lie detection. Since 1993, he has been consulting with departments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation.

International Center for Lie Detection and Profiling. Grew up on the basis of the International Academy for the Study of Lies (founded in 1998). Field of activity - training in the field social psychology, profiling, instrument-free lie detection, banking and aviation security. Staff - 17 employees.