Better Questions to Ask Than “How’s Life?”
Suggestions on bringing some new life to a tired question
You know where we’ve all been? At the corner of “How are you?” and “How’s life?” These age-old questions are some of the most bland and safe questions to ever leave the mouth a of person. Sure, they show that you have some level of interest in a person’s life, but they’re so broad, so general, and when I’ve had a long week or even a long day, these words trap me in time as my mind looks to grab onto memories that aren’t stacked neatly in my head waiting eagerly to be shared. I’m highkey a proponent of specifics which is a great ingredient when asking people questions about their lives, and really just a great ingredient in all forms of communication. I believe specific questions are better guided ones and easier to digest. So here are some better questions to ask people when you want to know what’s going on in their lives:
What did you do this morning/afternoon?
How are you feeling right now?
What’s something exciting that happened today?
Did you feel supported by your friends/family/coworkers today?
What’s something tough that you had to deal with today/this week?
What’s going through your mind right now?
What’s something that would’ve made your day better?
Is there anything happening this week that you’re looking forward to?
What are you reading/watching right now and what do you like or not like about it?
What are your plans for [insert upcoming holiday]?
If you could be anywhere doing anything, where would you be and what would you be doing?
What’s a practical thing you’d wish for this week?
When’s the last time you got to rest and relax outside of sleeping?
What’s something that happened today/this week that upset you? That made you happy?
Can you tell me about your day?
Can I give you a hug?
Can we hang out sometime this week?
Okay, so the last three are kind of cop outs, but I think they still could be effective in getting people to open up or at least feel better. Hopefully, in time, you’ll get to know the person better and you can come up with some even more specific questions to ask. For now, this is a good start; and I think people will take notice to these type of questions that are different from the sound of the old repetitive drum they’re used to hearing. My challenge for you is to pick one or two of these and ask them to a friend, acquaintance, family member, whovever and see what the response is.
