Penny Stones Blog

When starting a new conversation, which is the best question to ask?

1. What do you do for a living?
2. What’s new?
3. Are you a Browns  fan?
4. None of the above

The answer is 4 – none of these questions are great openers. 
“What do you do for a living?”:  Unless you’re at a work function or event like this, try to avoid career talk.  Consider the possible outcomes:  their occupation may be of no interest to you, or in this economy, they could be out of work.  Ultimately, it’s better to try to talk about something that you are truly interested in.

“What’s new?” or “How are you?”: Too open-ended, you’ll get equally boring answers like “Nothing” or “fine”

“Are you a Browns fan?”:  A yes or no answer is not a great opener, and only a die-hard fan would admit to being a Browns fan these days.

The best kinds of questions to ask are open-ended: start your question with Why, How or In what way… 
Closed-ended questions ask for one- or two-word answers.  Try to avoid:  Are, Do, Who, When, Where, Which, Have you… ?  

Here are some stock questions to keep on hand:
“What person would you most like to meet?” (pause) “Why?”

You can also introduce a topic with “My friends and I were just talking about…” and add what you’d like to talk about:
 * Favorite place to visit
 * What you’d love to try
 * Your dream job
 * Favorite childhood show, game or gift
 * Favorite summer memory

Stock questions above are from Penny Stones - great ice breakers on glass stones.