One of the first getting-to-know-you questions I ask people is what kind of music they like/listen to.
How would you know that before talking to them, hmm? Be careful.
I normally think “where are you from” is a very natural and friendly introductory question. But some people will be touchy, based on what they think you’re thinking it means. And if you’re asking on the basis of appearance… might they be right?
Ground up and in the freezer.
Hey, why are you running??
Do you put ketchup on hot dogs? Do you eat corn on the cob around, or across? Pineapple on pizza? Answers to those will tell you all you need to know.
I think “Where are you from?” is usually a good, safe opener in multiple situations (on bus or train, on ski lift, business situations, standing in line). Probably best used following the prefunctory “Good morning/afternoon/evening”.
I’m not like that. I meet a lot of people through work and I usually know they’re from somewhere else. Also, since I’m not a native ninglander I often end up starting by explaining that’s why I don’t know where the old fire station used to be, and then can ask them if they lived here all their lives. Being friendly about it doesn’t seem to lead to problems.
“If I were to ask a man from your tribe, would he tell me that the path on the left leads to Alphaville?”
Hrm, don’t think I’ve ever said ‘My name is Taomist’. I’ll say “Hi, I’m Taomist”, but never actually said it as ‘My name is Taomist’. I imagine if I had a name I had a problem with, like maybe I preferred a nickname, I’d say ‘Hi, I’m Taomist; you can call me Tao’. But now I’m wondering why I’ve never said it the “My name is…” way.
I don’t believe I’ve ever asked someone their name unless I’ve forgotten it already <which happens OFTEN>. I’ll introduce myself, and they can take it from there. As I’m relatively introverted, I hate intruding, myself.
Yeah. I’d be put off by such a question immediately after meeting someone. Sorry, I like the standard small-talk “how you doing/what do you do/etc” sort of escalation into serious topics, not some overwrought opener like “what keeps you interested day to day?”
“a/s/l?”
From Asimov’s Black Widowers stories:
“How do you justify your existence?”
My husband got me with, “What’s your favorite book?”
What have you been up to today? You may be from here or there, you might be a this or a that but what you actually did today could be far more interesting or amusing.
“So, tell me about yourself.”
Now, THERE’s a thread. “Two incongruent facts about yourself”.
Deckard: Replicant or human?
I didn’t catch the whole thing yesterday, but it would have been cooler if he’d been replicant.
“Who are you?”
“What makes you happy?”
Someone asked me that, and I really liked it". Made me think for a minute.
'Sup?
It depends on what you want their response to be. I’ve found success with “Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?”
Alternatively, “who are you and why are you in my kitchen?” will tell you quite a lot about them.