Ask open-ended questions that invite people to tell stories, rather than one-word answers.

Instead of "How was your day?" try, "What did you do today?" Other open-ended questions to try:

• "What's your story?"
• "What's the ...

So the man continued to walk on the foot of the mountain until he met the next traveler. So once again he asked, “How did you climb up that mountain, and what did you see from the top?” And so again the traveler shared his story. Still not being determined on which direction and which way to go, ...

The key, however, is to ask open-ended questions . That is, ask questions that don’t have a simple “yes or no” answer.

It’s the difference between Do you like living here? and What do you think about living here? Or the difference between Where did you...