Good questions are specific and genuinely open-ended rather than vague or simply answerable with a yes or no, since asking what specifically did not work about this approach draws out far more useful information than a flatter question like did it go okay, even though both are technically asking about the same underlying situation.
Listen fully and genuinely to the answer you receive before formulating your next question, rather than mentally drafting what you are going to say next while the other person is still speaking, since the sharpest, most useful follow-up questions genuinely come from actively processing what was just said, not from a question you had already half-prepared beforehand. Ask why and how questions to go meaningfully beneath the surface of a topic, rather than staying at a purely factual, surface level throughout the conversation, since these deeper questions consistently reveal reasoning, motivation and context that simple factual questions never actually surface on their own.
Do not be afraid to ask a question that seems basic or obvious, since clarifying questions genuinely tend to help everyone else in the room too, not just you personally, and the person who is quietly confused but stays silent rarely benefits anyone. In meetings specifically, save your clarifying questions for genuine confusion rather than asking purely to visibly appear engaged, since that habit, over time, builds you a reputation for questions that are actually useful and worth everyone attention, rather than just noise.
Example: A student in a team meeting who genuinely did not understand part of the plan asked a simple, direct clarifying question instead of nodding along silently, which turned out to reveal that two other team members had the exact same confusion, saving the whole team from a costly misunderstanding later.
One practical tip: Ask why and how questions to go beneath the surface of a topic, rather than staying at a purely factual level, and do not hesitate to ask something that feels basic, since clarifying questions consistently help everyone else in the room as much as they help you.