Raele shares exact phrases to use when someone dodges your question, like "So what are your thoughts on the question I asked earlier?" She recommends open-ended words like how and what, and suggests matching your directness to how close you are to the person.
Have you ever been in a situation or a conversation where someone is dodging your questions over and over again like a damn acrobat? Yeah, we've all been there. If so, here are a few quick prompts for you to hold that person accountable and hopefully get an answer to your question. So what are your thoughts on the question I asked earlier? So to reconfirm and ask your question again, I want to make sure we're on the same page. What do you think about that question I asked before? I'm not clear on this. What was your answer to this question? To go back to my initial question, what do you think the answer to that looks like? The most direct one is? I feel like you're avoiding my question. Where is this coming from? Or what's the reason behind that? Use the last one if you feel comfortable and the relationship is close enough. Otherwise all the others are good ones for steering the conversation in the direction you need it to go. Use open ended words like how, what, when to encourage an actual response and to clarify. These are questions that you're entitled to be asking because they pertain to you. I'm not saying to push someone to give you an answer to something that isn't any of your business. I'm well with Raelle, your communication coach, and as always, I hope these were helpful.
