“So, what do you do?”
It’s almost automatic.
And I get it. It’s an easy way to start a conversation. But lately I’ve been thinking…what if we changed the question?
Because what someone does is only one small part of who they are.
What if instead we asked:
“What’s been the best part of your day?”
Or…
“What are you looking forward to?”
“What’s something you’ve been really into lately?”
“What made you laugh this week?”
“If you had an entire day with nothing you had to do, how would you spend it?”
Now those answers tell us something.
Maybe someone tells you about their kid. Or the trip they're planning. The book they can't put down. A new hobby. A dream they've been thinking about. Something that made them laugh.
Suddenly, you're not talking about their job.
You're talking about them.
And maybe that's what we're missing.
We spend so much time introducing ourselves through our titles, accomplishments, roles and responsibilities that we forget there's a whole person underneath all of that.
So the next time you meet someone new, skip the résumé question.
Get curious.
Ask something that gives them a chance to tell you a little more.
Because maybe the best conversations aren't the ones where we figure out what someone does.
Maybe they're the ones where we discover who someone is.
And who knows?
You might just leave the conversation knowing a little more about them—and feeling a little more connected yourself.
So…what's been the best part of your day?
#Inputs | #EmbraceTheHellYeah
AE
