Attendance to an emergency department is often an unpredictable event and the beginning of a (sometimes lengthy) hospital journey. For many patients this can be quite an upsetting process. For the attending clinician, managing such patients sympathetically can be difficult but is a good opportunity to build rapport and for the patient to gain confidence. This is especially important in children. Whilst ideally, a thorough and detailed history and examination is often necessary in order to make a correct diagnosis, in a busy emergency department setting, or with very sick patients this is not always practical or possible. Patients therefore need to be triaged quickly so that they can be appropriately managed in accordance with their clinical need. Triaging patients is a common process and often becomes necessary whenever demand outstrips the resources required to make a detailed assessment in a timely fashion (usually within 15 min or less). Unfortunately a “one size fits all” approach is not possible in all patients. However, with experience, questions can quickly become tailored towards recognising ‘key’ symptoms or signs, which in the head and neck may indicate significant or serious pathology, or the presence of serious complications following injury. Knowing what to ask and what to look for when faced with an injury, infection, or distressed patient, significantly helps speed up the triage process. Many useful indicators exist. For example, the presence of neck stiffness in any patient with a severe headache should raise concerns regarding the possibility of meningitis or subarachnoid haemorrhage. Similarly, difficulty swallowing in a patient with a neck abscess is also a ‘red flag’ symptom, implying potential airway issues. With practice and experience we can learn which questions are the more important and therefore should be specifically asked.