CLIP Index

How to use this tutorial

Case study

Activities

Further activity

Further reading

Credits

Note: Use the back button on your browser to return to Activity 2.

Three first steps

1. Acknowledge the importance of the question.  It usually takes the person much thought, anxiety and courage to ask the question.  This needs to be recognised, e.g. "That's an important question".
2. Find out why the question is being asked.  This avoids any misunderstanding.  You could ask something like "I wonder why you're asking me this now?"  Checking gives the person an opportunity to make sure how willing they are to hear the answer.  Don't assume that John is asking whether he is going to die - check it out!
3. Are you the right person? You need to consider if you are the most appropriate person to be answering the question.  If the answer is straightforward, clear, and you are comfortable in answering, then provide the answer.

Should the person seem reluctant to hear the answer, check the following:

• You need to be satisfied that the person is not troubled with drowsiness, deafness or confusion.
• Check that the person wasn't put off because you weren't paying full attention!  The most likely reason is because the question caught you unprepared. You can remedy this easily by apologising for the inattention and once more acknowledge the importance of the question.
• Finally the person may suspect that any answer is going to be bad or difficult news.  See the CLIP tutorial:Breaking difficult news.

Answers to Agree or Disagree questions

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