Feed Your Boring Questions to the Komodo Dragons

PLEASE, NO.

“Where did you go before?”

“Where are you going next?”

I tense my muscles.

Not again.

Hmm… how can I turn this conversation into something interesting?

As some of you know, I am traveling for 6 months.

One of the good experiences is meeting so many new people.

But at the same time, it means many of the same conversations.

I see the same happening in office small talk. 

No one enjoys boring questions. Still, we ask them all the time. And it is unnecessary.

We have learned that we need to ask open questions.

However, not all open questions are great.

I prefer to distinguish low and high-quality questions.

In this article I explore those two types and give suggestions how to make your conversations more interesting.

Applying this concept has made an enormous difference in my life.

• The difference between a boring and fun conversation.

• The difference between an okay and a great business relationship.

• The difference between a meaningless moment and a life-changing career opportunity.

Low value questions

What do the following questions have in common?

"How long did you work for company X?”

“What did you do in your first month at this company?”

“When did you start in your current role?”

They are factual, transactional, not involving any emotion.

Moreover, such questions close off conversational avenues. There are not many possibilities for the other person to go off track.

These questions do not trigger that interesting business story, because the question is so narrow. These questions are unlikely to establish a great connection.

My advice?

Buy a plane ticket to Indonesia.

Take a big suitcase.

Pay the excess baggage fee if needed –

As long as all the low-quality questions fit in.

When you arrive, get on a boat to Komodo island.

And feed all the boring questions to the Komodo dragons.

Is that too extreme?

Yes, probably.

I just hope the vivid image of my cute little Komodo friends sticks in your head.