What is a primary purpose of open questions in the funneling process?

• A. Open questions should be avoided in early phases
• B. Open questions are used to gather broad information
• C. Open questions must be avoided after directive questions
• D. Open questions close the conversation

Answer: (B)

Open questions in the funneling process invite broad, exploratory information that helps you understand the big picture: goals, constraints, priorities, and how different factors relate to each other. By encouraging the other person to describe context and needs, you create a foundation for meaningful discovery and for tailoring later, more focused questions. This broad information serves as a map for where to dive deeper next, which is why gathering wide-ranging insights is the primary purpose. The other options don’t fit because early phases benefit from discovering context rather than avoiding it, and open questions don’t close the conversation but rather keep it open for further exploration.