EXPERIMENT: Asking the Right Questions
Turning any situation into an opportunity for discovery
Harnessing the power of curiosity is all about knowing how to ask the right questions. With this skill in our arsenal, any situation can turn into an opportunity for discovery, learning, creativity, innovation and just plain fun.
The key to asking good questions is always to be sincerely interested in the subject of your curiosity. With a genuine interest in your subject — whether it’s a person, place, animal, thing or concept — asking questions and keeping the flow going can often feel totally natural, and not nearly as intimidating as we may think. Think about it — have you ever met someone with whom conversation just flows? And you find yourself not having to think about all the rules of charm and charisma you’ve read up on just to make yourself seem more magnetic? In situations like these, we forget all the guidelines and instead drop into our innate curiosity to get to know the person we’re talking to, because we’re genuinely interested. And if they do the same, bam! Chemistry.
It’s the same with anything, really. Being interested makes you interesting. Take, for example, a hobby you have. Chances are, you could spend hours and hours learning, practicing, researching and studying your personal interests, because they excite you and bring you joy. Whether it’s asking yourself, “What happens next?” when you come to the end of a chapter in your book, despite it being way past your bedtime; or asking yourself, “How would my character react in this situation?” while writing a story; or asking yourself, “How can I make myself stronger, jump higher, move faster?” and doing the necessary research in order to become a better athlete — your innate curiosity comes out in situations like these without needing to be prompted, and takes you further than you would otherwise go.
Once you’ve gotten used to it, following your curiosity and asking good questions becomes second nature. Until then, it’s useful to have a few on hand to fall back on whenever you find yourself at a loss. Here are some suggestions to get you started:
When you’re getting to know someone
What makes you happy?
What’s important to you?
What movies/TV shows/music/books/artists/etc. would you recommend?
What’s one thing you wish more people knew about you?
What are your thoughts on (insert topic of interest here)?
When you’re coming up with creative ideas
What if I tried doing it the complete opposite way?
What would (insert inspiring creative’s name here) do in this situation? Why would they do it that way? How would I do it instead?
What am I trying to achieve? What’s my goal or motivation for this work?
When you’re trying to be a better person
What does my ideal self look like? What would being my ideal self feel like?
What would my ideal self do in this situation?
What simple, small thing could I do right now that would bring me closer to being my best self?
Who do I want to make proud?
What do I want people to remember me for?
What example do I want to set for the people who look up to me — my siblings, my kids, the younger generation?
When you’re learning/studying something
How does this work?
How would I apply this in a real life situation?
What’s the simplest way I could explain this? Could I make a five-year-old understand it?
How would I teach this to someone else?
Just how good can I get at this, exactly?
When you just wanna have some fun
Why the hell not?
Hey, what if I…?
Could I get away with this?
Is that a dare?
Is that so?
Use your questions to figure out better ways of doing things, understand things more deeply, and challenge both others and yourself (within reason, of course!). As you get more comfortable with putting yourself out there and asking your own questions, you’ll come up with your own go-to’s to fall back on and keep conversations interesting. Everyone is unique, and everyone is interested in different things, and the kind of questions you ask will reflect that. So experiment — think of these as guidelines to get started with, and then go beyond them.
And as always, share your experiments with us on Instagram! Tag us @brazen.mag and use the hashtag #brazenexperiments so we can see what’s sparking your curiosity. Have fun!
