When practicing consultation skills, there are ethical questions designed to help a person understand clearly the presented situation and take appropriate actions. A humble inquiry is a productive approach; it encourages workers to articulate their conditions or problems in depth and provide information need to give directions. According to Edger, the hidden problem with a consultant role lies in the empowerment. As a consultant, one still functions as an expert, while the team relies on skills knowledge to determine the next course of action. When someone relies on the ability of an expert to solve problems, he or she is limited to creative problem-solving techniques, thus keeping them dependent on consultants. Below is a set of questions to consider during a consultation exercise with a colleague.

What was the reason that you wanted to meet with me?

What happened?

Who is affected by the situation? Who is almost affected by the situation?

Has the problem occurred before? If so, under what circumstance did it happen?

When did you first note the issue?

What do you think about the situation?

When engaging in the conversation, from a consultant perspective, I observed something important when asking the diagnostic questions. Questions like the one outlined above naturally tend to follow a path towards an issue. I learned that, as a consultant, if I suspect a machine failure in an organization is the problem, the questions should be centered on machine maintainability and capabilities. Here, there was a need to avoid approaching questions with an open mind or making assumptions. The conversation was more of solution seeking by moving from the role of giving solution to coaching. I connect the conversation exercise with the role of coaches, who inspire people or team while collaborating excellence. In this way, I realized that the coaching model during the conversation seemed to empower the colleague and assumed the responsibility of problem-solving. The simple questions led the client to analyze the situation for herself and propose a creative way through her understanding. For example, asking the colleague what she thought of the situation opened the door for a thoughtful analysis.

To effectively adapt to communication styles of other people, the first step is knowing well the audience. From a daily analysis of interactions with colleagues, one must have a clear sense of likes and dislikes, do’s and don’ts. In many organizations, there are cultural habits, religion or politics topics to avoid in the workplace. Therefore, one ought to pay attention to the issues of interests among people. For example, it is good to identify whether people prefer discussing sensitive matters on one-on-one setting or in more significant number. In this way, the communication habit will shape the relationship styles, making it uniform within a given environment. Another way to adapt to people’s communication styles is to mirror their language and gestures they use to speak. Knowing someone’s mannerism could help feel at ease and become persuasive. When interacting, it would be okay to vary tones to fit in the situation, for example employing serious tones when discussing serious matters in the organization.

The best practices for asking questions is knowing when and how to ask.  What makes an internal consultant an elite in a consultation is the quantity and quality of questioning. An elite consultant knows how and when to ask the right questions since deep, thorough and best questions are consultant close friend. Before asking questions, as a consultant one should practice listening. Listening intently to what clients say is the best practice for adequate consultation. A rapport gets established during a time of listening, which is the key in business relationships. When one fails to listen to what other people are saying about their matters, then there will be no better way to understand the best solution to produce the desired results. The other practice is asking the right questions. Asking allows a client to deliver, established level of authority status and enhance building credibility. A consultant should practice the best ways to question.

The more comfortable a consultant asks meaningful questions, the more he or she learns about people’s situations and what they want. Some question encourages and provides a way to engage clients in the consultation exercise. For example, asking a person the main reason a client wanted to meet was is an effective way to engage a person. Such as question forced the colleague during the discussion exercise to take notice and say actually why we met. However, if the client has already disclosed reasons for meeting with the consultant, then as a consultant one can focus the discussion on the main issue. Learning the various communication styles and identifying which one to use often when interacting with people is vital when one want to develop practical communication skills. Examples of communication styles we could use include assertive, passive or aggressive and submissive. Every person has his or her unique communication style employed when exchanging information. Assertive style, for instance, has been identified as the most effective as it incorporates the aspect of other techniques.

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