The Art of Listening and Meaningful Questions
As 2008 starts have a brief moment and reflect on the conversations you’ve had over the week, the last week or the past month with any person.
Have they been general chit chat? or discussions that have made you think, grow and feel inspired.
We all are now in this mood of going for our goals and focusing on how to make 2008 the BEST year of our life, but think for a minute who would be the people that could support you in achieving those goals? Who would be the people that could inspire you and encourage you when the road gets tougher?
In order to find them you’ll have to get to know them on a deeper level. The problem is that it’s rare to encounter people who ask meaningful questions beyond ‘how are you?’ before launching into endless chatter. Questions are often the key to unlock incredible amounts of joy within any conversation for you and the person you’re talking to.
Today I challenge you to select either one or a series of questions from the following list and engage somebody you know or have just met in a meaningful conversation - could be over lunch, via skype (instant messenger), during a meeting, over dinner….any place and then share with us if you noticed anything different about your conversation - how you felt, how the other person responded and whether it’s a valuable skill to develop.
And feel free to add any of your favorite questions to the list.
What have you been thinking about lately?
What’s been on your mind?
What are you excited about at the moment?
When was the last time you made a difference to somebody?
Who are you really happy for at the moment?
When was the last time you felt inspired?
If you could be in your dream place at the moment what would you be doing?
If somebody was describing your personality what would they say?
What are you most proud of?
What’s been tempting you lately?
What’s been the one most consistent thing in your life?
What are you sure of?
Who have you inspired lately?
What do you love about people? or What do you love about (person’s name)?
What gives you butterflies in your tummy?
When do you find time to reflect? What do you usually reflect about?
I’ve compiled this list of questions on one of the last sunny morning in September while sitting in a garden in Oslo and wrote them into my journal that I have found while de-cluttering for the coming year…
Would love to add your questions to the list.
Love and light, Vered
