The Danger of a Question With Only One Right Answer
Launch library · evergreen read
A question built with only one acceptable answer in mind rarely functions as a genuine question at all, however it might be phrased, since the asker has already decided what a correct response should sound like.
This kind of question tends to produce compliance rather than honesty, since the person answering can usually sense, even subtly, that any answer diverging from the expected one will not be welcomed warmly.
Catching this pattern in your own questions takes deliberate self checking, since it is remarkably easy to phrase a leading question sincerely while genuinely believing it remains open to a range of answers.
A useful test is asking whether a surprising, disagreeing answer would still feel like a reasonable response to the question as worded. If it would not, the question was probably never truly open in the first place. Practising this check regularly tends to sharpen a person's questions considerably, well beyond any single conversation.