What type of questions should be avoided when trying to facilitate storytelling?

Leading questions should be avoided when facilitating storytelling because they can inadvertently guide or sway the storyteller's response. By including assumptions or expectations, these questions may limit the person's narrative or influence the direction of their story, thereby reducing the authenticity and richness of the experience being shared. Storytelling thrives on openness and the storyteller's freedom to express their thoughts and feelings without being influenced by the question itself. In contrast, open-ended questions encourage a broader range of responses and allow the person to tell their story in their own way, while clarifying questions help ensure understanding without affecting the content. Direct questions may elicit specific information, but they usually do not facilitate the depth of storytelling that open-ended ones do.