Indirect Questions

• When we speak with clients in Boston or London, we often use indirect questions to sound more polite and professional. Instead of starting directly with 'Who', 'What', or 'Where', we use phrases like 'Could you tell me...' or 'Do you know...'.
• Direct Question
• Indirect Question with 'Could you tell me...?'
• Indirect Question with 'Do you know...?'
• What is our buying process?
• Could you tell me what our buying process is?
• Do you know what our buying process is?
• Who is the economic buyer?
• Could you tell me who the economic buyer is?
• Do you know who the economic buyer is?
• Where is the stakeholder meeting?
• Could you tell me where the stakeholder meeting is?
• Do you know where the stakeholder meeting is?
• Remember
• Start the indirect question with a polite phrase like 'Could you tell me...?' or 'Do you know...?'.
• Keep the same question word (what, who, where, when, why, how) after the polite phrase.
• Put the subject before the verb in the second part of the sentence (change the word order, do not use do/does/did for the main verb).
• End the sentence with a question mark if the polite phrase is a question.
• Examples
• Could you tell me what your buying criteria are in Chicago?
• Do you know who the end user is in Seattle?
• Could you tell me how many stakeholders work in the London office?
• Common mistakes
• Could you tell me what is your budget?
• Could you tell me what your budget is?
• Do you know where does the economic buyer live?
• Do you know where the economic buyer lives?

Complete the sentences

• Could you tell me (what be) ____ underlying need is in Austin?
• Do you know (who) ____ the decision-making unit in New York includes?
• Could you tell me (where) ____ the discovery meeting takes place in Manchester?
• Do you know (what) ____ our buying criteria are for Boston?
• Could you tell me (how) ____ the buying process works in Denver?
• Do you know (which) ____ stakeholder approved the purchase in Bristol?

Sources: photo by Thirdman on Pexels