Can i have question

Thread starter arlett Start date Feb 27, A few days ago I used the question referred to above but my teacher told me that this form is not natural English and in no circumstances would a native speaker say that. She suggested that we say "May I ask you? Is it really that awkward? Englishmypassion Senior Member Nainital.

A: "May I have a question? However, you can say "I have a question" and then ask the question, which makes it clear what question you have. In English "I have a question" means "in my mind there is a question". I have it in my mind I know what my question is , but I have not spoken it yet.

The opposite would be "I have not thought of a question yet". In such situations, closed questions work better, especially if they are framed correctly.

In these situations, a survey tactic can aid discovery. Although this tactic may sometimes prove useful at an organizational level—we can imagine that managers might administer a survey rather than ask workers directly about sensitive information such as salary expectations—we counsel restraint in using it.

The optimal order of your questions depends on the circumstances. During tense encounters, asking tough questions first, even if it feels socially awkward to do so, can make your conversational partner more willing to open up. Leslie and her coauthors found that people are more willing to reveal sensitive information when questions are asked in a decreasing order of intrusiveness.

Of course, if the first question is too sensitive, you run the risk of offending your counterpart. There are few business settings in which asking questions is more important than sales. A recent study of more than , business-to-business sales conversations—over the phone and via online platforms—by tech company Gong.

Consistent with past research, the data shows a strong connection between the number of questions a salesperson asks and his or her sales conversion rate in terms of both securing the next meeting and eventually closing the deal. This is true even after controlling for the gender of the salesperson and the call type demo, proposal, negotiation, and so on. However, there is a point of diminishing returns.

Conversion rates start to drop off after about 14 questions, with 11 to 14 being the optimal range. The data also shows that top-performing salespeople tend to scatter questions throughout the sales call, which makes it feel more like a conversation than an interrogation. Just as important, top salespeople listen more and speak less than their counterparts overall.

Taken together, the data from Gong. If the goal is to build relationships, the opposite approach—opening with less sensitive questions and escalating slowly—seems to be most effective. The pairs who followed the prescribed structure liked each other more than the control pairs. Asking tough questions first can make people more willing to open up. Good interlocutors also understand that questions asked previously in a conversation can influence future queries.

However, when the same questions were asked in the opposite order, the answers were less closely correlated. People are more forthcoming when you ask questions in a casual way, rather than in a buttoned-up, official tone. The control group was presented with a neutral-looking site. Participants were about twice as likely to reveal sensitive information on the casual-looking site than on the others.

For example, if they are told that they can change their answers at any point, they tend to open up more—even though they rarely end up making changes. This might explain why teams and groups find brainstorming sessions so productive. In a whiteboard setting, where anything can be erased and judgment is suspended, people are more likely to answer questions honestly and say things they otherwise might not.

Of course, there will be times when an off-the-cuff approach is inappropriate. Participants were told either that most others in the study were willing to reveal stigmatizing answers or that they were unwilling to do so. In a meeting or group setting, it takes only a few closed-off people for questions to lose their probing power. The opposite is true, too. As soon as one person starts to open up, the rest of the group is likely to follow suit. Group dynamics can also affect how a question asker is perceived.

But when third-party observers watch the same conversation unfold, they prefer the person who answers questions. This makes sense: People who mostly ask questions tend to disclose very little about themselves or their thoughts. To those listening to a conversation, question askers may come across as defensive, evasive, or invisible, while those answering seem more fascinating, present, or memorable.

Just as the way we ask questions can facilitate trust and the sharing of information—so, too, can the way we answer them. Answering questions requires making a choice about where to fall on a continuum between privacy and transparency.

Should we answer the question? If we answer, how forthcoming should we be? What should we do when asked a question that, if answered truthfully, might reveal a less-than-glamorous fact or put us in a disadvantaged strategic position? Each end of the spectrum—fully opaque and fully transparent—has benefits and pitfalls. Keeping information private can make us feel free to experiment and learn. In negotiations, withholding sensitive information such as the fact that your alternatives are weak can help you secure better outcomes.

At the same time, transparency is an essential part of forging meaningful connections. Are you going to train on Sunday morning? Is your son coming to watch you play? Is the match going to be televised? Note that for a question involving the subject pronoun I the verb form am is needed: Are you working at the moment?

Am I disturbing you? Come in. Are you laughing or crying? This book is very sad. Is it upsetting you? But I want to finish it. So do you have a lie-in on Saturdays? Do you have breakfast on Saturdays? I start the day with lunch. Does your sister have a new boyfriend? His name's Kevin. Does he have a car? Do you have a boyfriend at the moment? Note that when we use have got to talk about possession, we need have or has as the question word: Has your sister's new boyfriend got a car?

Have you got a boyfriend at the moment? Note that we can make negative questions with don't or doesn't: Do you walk to school every day?