47 Skill 1: Asking Questions Often you need to ask questions to get information or to control the conversation. There are two types of questions that can be used, and each has a particular purpose: open questions and closed questions. Open Questions Can be used when you want a customer to explain or discuss something Should be used when all you need is a "yes," a "no," or another short answer. Closed Questions For example, if you ask a customer, "Did you read the email?" the answer will be either "yes" or "no." However, if you want the customer to discuss the particulars of the email, you could ask: "What did you think of the email?" This way the customer will provide an explanation. Use both types of questions to gain better control of your telephone conversations. At the beginning of most customer calls, you need to learn what the customer