Verbal elements of a speech

     Closed questions tend to seek only a one or two words answer (often simply ‘yes’ or ‘no’). They therefore limit the scope of the response. Two examples of closed questions are:

“Did you travel by car today?”
“Did you see the football game yesterday?”

     These types of question allow the questioner to remain in control of the communication. This is often not the desired outcome when trying to encourage verbal communication, so many people try to focus on using open questions more often. Nevertheless, closed questions can be useful for focusing discussion and obtaining clear, concise answers when needed.