Amy Cringole
Hello, Hi! Nice to see you.
How are you today? Fine, and you? Doing good!
How was your day? Great, you? Great.
Do you ever get caught in surface level dialog? In our fast-paced world, it’s easy to activate “auto-pilot” leading us to enact the same conversation over and over again. We scratch the surface of communication, but do we ever really talk? There is power in asking the right questions. To make conversations meaningful, practice asking open-ended questions — try intentional listening and responses. When we avoid the “yes or no” and implement open-ended questions, we may learn much more about our partners’ experiences and feelings.
Day to day conversations can be purposeful and connecting if we can get creative. Instead of “How’s your day?” try asking, “What’s the best part of your day today?” or “What are you looking forward to most today?”. The book Power Questions by Andrew Sobel and Jerold Panas helps the reader learn how to Build Relationships, Win New Buisness, and Influence Others. Below is a list of questions derived from their book that can help foster, connect, deepen, and build relationships through thoughtful conversation.
Try a few of them today!
- What has brought you the most fulfillment?
- What would you like to do less of?
- Who has been an influential role model or mentor to you?
- What do you like about your work?
- What gets you excited about the future?
- Are there areas in your life you could grow?
- What are your most important goals right now?
- What do you value most?
- What is an obstacle in your life currently?
What does happiness mean to you?
