■ 2003年8月7日(木)
ビーグルの迷い犬と新馬山屋のかぼちゃ粥
Reference: Written Communication (May. '03, Business English from NHK radio)
The question type can have a big impact on the flow of the conversation.
Let's look at some good question and compare them to some not-good-alternatives (closed-ended questions).
How can we improve customer service? vs Can we improve customer service?
What are some actions we can take to improve customer relationship? vs Would a reduction of consulting service tariff is effective to increase some new client?
Why do you think we have so many complaints from our clients recently? vs Don't you think our staff is responsible for the increased number of complaints?
The difference between the questions on the left, the open-ended questions, and the closed-ended questions is that the answers to the open-ended questions will be longer and give the person asking the question more information. The other questions just have a "yes" or "no" answer.
When writing questions, always try to consider what information you would like to receive when you ask a question. If you just want a simple answer, a closed-ended question may be fine, but when you want to understand an issue or problem, the first questions you might want to ask should be open-ended.
(See page 30 on the textbook)
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