Although the following list is not exhaustive it outlines the main reasons questions are asked in common situations.

• To get information – the primary function of a question is to gain information – ‘What time is it?’
• To help maintain control of a conversation – while you are asking questions, you are in control of the conversation, assertive people are more likely to take control of conversations attempting to gain the information they need through questioning.
• Express an interest in the other person – questioning allows us to find out more about the respondent, this can be useful when attempting to build rapport and show empathy or to simply get to know the other person better.
• To clarify a point – questions are commonly used in communication to clarify something that the speaker has said.  Questions used as clarification are essential in reducing misunderstanding and therefore more effective communication.
• To explore the personality and or difficulties the other person may have – questions are used to explore the feelings, beliefs, opinions, ideas and attitudes of the person being questioned. They can also be used to better understand problems that another person may be experiencing – like in the example of a doctor trying to diagnose a patient.
• To test knowledge – questions are used in all sorts of quiz, test and exam situations to ascertain the knowledge of the respondent.  ‘What is the capital of France?’ for example.
• To encourage further thought – questions may be used to encourage people think about something more deeply.  Questions can be worded in such a way as to get the person to think about a topic in a new way.  ‘Why do you think Paris is the capital of France?”
• In group situations – questioning in group situations can be very useful for several reasons, to include all members of the group, to encourage more discussion of a point, to keep attention by asking questions without advance warning.  These examples can be easily related to a team meeting or workshop.