Let's experiment: I asked a colleague in work about her holiday last year:
| Question | Answer |
| Did you have a holiday last year? | Yes |
| Did you go to Arabia? | No |
| Did you go to the Bahamas? | No |
| Did you go to Crete? | No |
| Did you go to Denmark? | No |
| Did you go to France? | No |
| Did you go to Gran Canaria? | No |
| Did you go to Hungary? | No |
I'm no expert, however I think it could have taken quite a while to find out where my friend went on holiday last year.
You see, asking closed questions will get you a YES/NO answer. Fine if the range of possibilities is limited to yes or no.
A police officer stops a car on the highway. He needs to establish ownership of the car. A closed question is the way to do that and do it quickly. "Is that your car sir?"
When using questions to their best effect, save the closed questions until you are looking for: