Random question

We usually ask strangers only about the time and directions. One unusual question shows how much a person is ready to tell.

Pick a moment when the person is not in a hurry: a queue, a bench, waiting for a bus, the steps outside a building. Start with the ordinary — the weather, the queue, whatever is around — and only then ask your question. Ask it straight: so what surprised you today? — then go quiet and do not offer options. Hold the pause: almost everyone needs a few seconds to remember. Listen without turning the conversation to yourself and without preparing your own answer — your story is not needed here. Say thanks and be the one who leaves, while the conversation is still alive.

What surprised you today — and why had you not noticed it before the question?