What three question's would you ask a person who cuts and what would you want to know about cutting?

Answer 1

Do you have thoughts of killing yourself (always assess risk of suicide first)?
What happened just before you started to cut? (getting at the "why" of cutting. What are their triggers for cutting. Specifically asking "Why" is a loaded question and will usually get "I don't know" for an answer)
How is cutting helpful or adaptive for you? (again, asking "Why" without asking "why")
All of these questions don't really come out and say "Cutting is bad! You need help!" which can drive the person away, but they make the person feel that you are trying to understand what they are experiencing.

Answer 2

I wouldn't suggest coming right out and saying "why are you cutting" if this is the first time you are meeting the person.

However, if the cuts are visible, you may ask "what happened there?" If he/she refuses to say or comes up with an excuse, you may say..."oh, I've just heard that some other people around (school, community) are cutting themselves. I just wanted to make sure you weren't doing it."
Then you might say, "Do you know anyone who cuts?"
You really need to find out why he/she is cutting. Is he/she depressed, angry, confused, etc?
Conversing about the issues, perhaps giving examples of others who are doing it and how they can overcome it, may be best because the person doing the cutting will more than likely deny he/she is doing it.
Try to remind the person that there are alternatives to cutting, and that if the cutting is serious it needs to be discussed. Perhaps you will be able to help with the real issue. The cutting is only a superficial issue, done to hide the true feelings of the person.