The 4 Questions To Know Us Better

While interview questions are often stressful and create anxiety for the candidates that have to answer, simple everyday conversations are full of them. However, these questions create feelings of peacefulness and hardly ever make us anxious. Here we will explore the most common questions people ask when they meet someone for the first time and what they can get from the other person’s answers.

1. What do you do?
   Perhaps the most interesting question we want to ask without insulting people is ”What do you do for a living?” The occupation itself reveals a bunch of information about the other person without having to ask irrelevant questions that are not linked with the discussion in any particular way. For example, the profession will allow you to guess whether the person has studied or gone to college. It is socially acceptable to ask that question even if you cannot reach that conclusion on your own. If someone does not want to sound too curious, they can rephrase the question and ask ”Really, which college have you been to?” This way, not only do we learn if they have been to college. We also learned which one it was. From that, we can make assumptions not only about their educational background but also about their financial situation. Regardless of whether the financial situation, etc., is important, it is interesting to understand how many things we can assume after a quick question. In addition, we can have a clue of the type of personality they carry. For instance, if they are the CEOs of a big company, that means they are probably ambitious and energetic; if they are teachers in school, they are expected to like kids and be loving personalities.
2. Where do you hang out?
   Finding the places someone likes to spend their time tells us a lot about their taste. To start with, the answer will tell you what type of entertainment they appreciate. The question is very general, so someone can tell you their favorite restaurant, cafeteria, bar, or club. This way, you can understand if they are night birds, food lovers, or even if they simply want to hang out in coffee houses to enjoy a calm conversation. Of course, the style of the place reveals the second part of the information we can extract. If they tell you the name of the bar, you can directly check if it is a fancy luxurious place or a small warm bar with folk music, etc.
3. What are your hobbies?
   Even though this question may not be established precisely like that, this is pretty much the gist. While the other two questions allow us to form an idea based on the answers, this question does not leave any room for doubts. The other person is called to answer for themselves, so you do not have to make any assumptions. Sometimes, we do not want to ask this directly because it shows that we really want to get to know the other person, and this might scare them away. So indirect ways to ask the same question may be developed. For instance, one may say: ”I quite love tennis. Are you into sports? We start by revealing a piece of information for ourselves and then ask people where they stand regarding that statement. Their answers will leave some space so that we can develop the conversation. If they are into sports, we can ask what they like in particular, and if they are not, we can move on by guessing their artistic nature and so on.
4. What is your favorite…?
   Last but not least, quick and simple questions like what is your favorite dish or color, etc., can break the ice and create a friendly atmosphere. The question’s simplicity implies that we are open to casual discussion and that people can be open with us. In addition, it is good for us because we can also get in this cheerful mood where no big questions have to be answered and examined. Again questions like these can be formed in other ways like ”Mountain or sea?” or even more simply when the other person can answer with a yes or no. In any case, they are fun, and plain, and allow us to know each other.

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