Pet Please #106: A Really Great, Unique Question

ComicCon
ComicCon

This is pet please #106, but really, it’s one of my top 3 favorite things in the world: a really great, unique question.

I recently wrote about how there are so many better questions to ask than, “How are you?” Part of what prompted me to write the post is that we’re asked (and we ask) the same questions over and over, whether we’re meeting someone new or we’re chatting with an old friend or family member. I think we tend to be pretty lazy with questions, myself included.

I love unique questions so much that I blatantly put it at the bottom of my OkCupid profile: “Ask me a question I’ve never been asked.” I get a few responses now and then from women who say, “How do I know what other people have asked you?” That’s fair. But I much more enjoy those who think of something clever to ask.

I was at the St. Louis ComicCon this past weekend with my business partner, Alan. On the drive home we were talking about conventions and how both of us being introverted doesn’t help matters, and Alan said, “You may have noticed that I didn’t talk much today–I don’t really know what to say.”

My response? “Just ask questions.”

Part of that is a defense mechanism for introverts, but it’s a fantastic way to connect with people. Especially if you’re asking questions about things they love. Find out what they love, and then ask questions that enable them to talk very specifically about why they love it.

I have the good fortune of being interviewed a fair amount these days by podcasts and and blogs about my current Kickstarter campaign. A lot of the questions are often pretty similar, and they need to be–different people read different blogs, and they need a frame of reference.

But I love it when an interviewer asks me something new. Something I haven’t been asked before. This happened several times recently on this podcast and this blog.

What’s the last question that made you really smile or think?

1 thought on “Pet Please #106: A Really Great, Unique Question”

  1. While it’s not the most unique question ever, I always enjoy questions that make me think about a creative abstract in order to answer. Someone on a dating site once asked me if I were a fruit, what would I be? Obviously, I am a pineapple. A peculiar visual appeal, spiny if mishandled, a bit acidic but very sweet, just a touch exotic, and with a heart of gold. 🙂

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