Open+or+Closed+Questions

(Using open-ended questions improves conversations too.) She thinks: I might as well talk to a parrot.
 * She asks: What’s up?**
 * He responds: Hey, what’s up? **

One way to get beyond small talk is to ask open-ended questions. Aim for questions that invite people to tell stories, rather than give bland, one-word answers.
 * Ask for stories, not answers**

First item: Closed Second item: Open-ended

“How are you?” “What’s the story of your day so far?”

“How was your day?” “What did you do today?”

“Where are you from?” “What’s the strangest thing about where you grew up?”

“Was school interesting today?” “What’s the most interesting thing that happened at school today?”

“What is your favorite subject?” “How did your favorite subject become your favorite subject?”

“What’s your name?” “What does your name mean? What would you like it to mean?”

“How was your weekend?” “What was the best part of your weekend?”

“What’s up?” “What are you looking forward to this week?”

“How long have you been living in Twentynine Palms?” "What do you like best about living in Twentynine Palms?"

"What's up?" “Who do you think is the luckiest person in this room?”

"What's up?" “If you could teleport by blinking your eyes, where would you go right now?”

//"Google is a wonderful tool for questioners, but it's only a starting point. If we're going to tackle really interesting, powerful questions, we shouldn't expect easy answers obtained with a few keystrokes. We shouldn't settle for Wikipedia wisdom." //

//Everyone needs basic questioning skills: The ability to look at information and ask, **Why is this important? Should I accept it as entirely true or complete? What if there's a different way of thinking about this?** And, from a practical standpoint, **How can I best use this information for my purposes?"** //

Warren Berger