Instructional Statements work
Aside from learning about closed (answerable by yes or no) or open (answerable with an explanation) questions, we have to learn about instructional statements. Of course we know that open questions should be asked more because they give us more information.
However, if we need to ask them 5 or 10 questions, we will risk sounding like an FBI interrogator. What we need to avoid this is to use instructional statements. It is the best way to qualify or to get the information that you need. Statements like, “Tell me about…” or “Share with me…” or “Fill me in on…” are less confrontational and much more conversational.