Page 64 - Nutrition Counseling and Education Skills: A Guide for Professionals

Open questions are broad and give the interviewee great freedom in deciding what facts, thoughts, and
feelings to express while giving the professional an opportunity to listen and observe. Open questions allow
people to tell their story.28 The following are examples of open questions:

“Will you tell me a little about yourself?”
“What are some foods you like to eat during the day?”
“What have you done in the past to try to lose weight?”
“What made you decide to seek employment here?”

At the beginning of an interview, open questions are less threatening and communicate more interest and
trust; answers reveal what the interviewee thinks is most important.

Disadvantages are that they may involve a greater amount of time, the collection of unnecessary
information, and lengthy, disorganized answers.3

The following are examples of open questions with moderate restrictions:

“Can you tell me about the types of meals you eat during the day?”
“What did the doctor tell you about your health and diet?”
“What were your job responsibilities in your previous position?”
“How did you become interested in this position?”
“What skills do you have that are important for this job?”

CASE ANALYSIS 6

What topics would you like to discuss with Mrs. Maynard about controlling her blood pressure?

In follow-up visits, open questions should be broad to allow the client to determine the focus of the
interview. Examples are, “How are your dietary goals progressing?” or “What progress have you made since we
last talked?” The counselor should begin discussion with whatever is of current concern to the client. For
opening questions, the interviewer should also refer to the records regarding the client’s background,
problems, and previous counseling goals.

Closed questions are more restrictive; that is, they control the length of answers while obtaining a single
fact or missing information. Some closed questions are more limiting than others, such as:

“Who cooks the food at home?”
“Do you salt your food?”
“Tell me about any snacks you eat between meals.”
“What special diet or food restrictions, if any, do you follow?”

Closed questions give the interviewer more control, require less effort from the interviewee, and are less time
consuming, which is of value when only a short screening is needed.3 Disadvantages include the inhibition of
communication, which might result if the interviewer shows little interest in the answers, and the need for
additional questions to obtain information. Table 3-2 summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of the
different kinds of questions.

Type of Questions Advantages Disadvantages

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