Silence is golden, but unfortunately sometimes you have to talk

No one will be surprised if I say that introverts are usually not chatty people. In fact, small talk is one of my biggest anxieties. I have a long history of slipping out the back of meetings, parties, and barbecues in order to avoid having to make conversation. 

In fact, my biggest anxiety about having people over is not the food-- pretty much anyone who comes to our house knows not to expect anything fancy-- it's the conversation. What if we all sit down to eat and no one can think of anything to say? Because that has happened. I'm not a great conversationalist. Sometimes silence falls and I've got nothing. 

So a couple of years ago I started collecting conversation questions. Turns out there are quite a few lists out there. I printed out the promising ones, cut them into strips, put them in a jar, and came up with random "rules" for how this Q&A game would be played. I also keep a list on my phone for restaurants.

So here you go-- a few of my collection. They've led to some pretty fun conversations.

• Would you rather live in a tree house, a house boat, or a castle?
• What did you eat for breakfast? Do you eat the same thing every day?
• If you could organize your life however you wanted with no regard for your responsibilities, what time would you go to sleep and what time would you get up?
• You have fifteen minutes to evacuate your house. Besides the basics (phone, passport, pets, etc), what would you take?
• If you were a contestant in a pageant, what would your talent be? (men have to answer this one, too)(unconventional talents encouraged)
• It's vacation time: travel or stay home? If travel: beach, mountains, city....? If stay home: what would you do?
• If you could instantly become an expert in some skill or hobby, what would it be?
• What was your favorite TV show when you were a kid?
• Would you rather live in Barrow, Alaska (extreme cold), or Death Valley, California (extreme heat)?
• What would be the coolest thing about your dream house?
• What is your favorite holiday? least favorite?
• What was your first paying job? did you like it?
• If you're having a bad day, what cheers you up? 
• What age do you feel?
• Dog/cat/both/neither?
• Have you ever met a celebrity in person? Tell us everything.
• Who was your best friend when you were ten? 
• What kind of music did you like when you were 17?

Surprisingly to me, the ones who seem to enjoy this the most are the kids. Maybe because if we go around the table to answer, it puts them on equal footing with the adults. (Of course, if kids will be present, I cull the questions to suit.) 

My "rules" are: everyone pulls a question, but if you get one you don't like, you can pull a different one. If you don't want to answer a question, you can pass. Elaborating beyond a one-word response is encouraged. That's all.

I'm always on the lookout for new ones, so if you have any ideas, let me know. I did have one-- what is your all-time favorite book? -- that I've ended up discarding because it embarrassed people who are not readers, and also those of us who are avid readers would immediately be off on a twenty minute discussion.

Have a great weekend. Ask some questions and be curious about the answers!