4,000 Questions for Getting to Know Anyone and Everyone

by Barbara Ann Kipfer

4,000 ways to achieve instant intimacy

What, more than anything, makes you angry?
Who were your childhood idols?
What kind of leader are you most inclined to follow?

What has happened to the art of conversation? In the age of Internet chat rooms, speed dating, and frantic text messaging, have we forgotten how to meaningfully connect? This book of 4,000 provocative questions will help you get to know anyone and everyone in every social situation. Use it to go beyond small talk at parties, networking events, dates, dinner tables, and road trips. It's for getting to know someone you just met and learning a lot more about someone you thought you already knew (who may be yourself).

·A perfect social tool for the Internet generation
·Features thematic sections on lifestyle choices, pastimes, politics, family, and more
·A resource for self-discovery and for journalists and writers doing interviews and developing characters, plots, and story lines

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Psychology, Business, Reference, Marriage, Relationships

272 pages, Paperback

First published April 7, 2015

About the author

Dr. Barbara Ann Kipfer (born in 1954) is a lexicographer,as well as an archaeologist. She has written more than 60 books, including 14,000 Things to be Happy About (Workman), which has more than a million copies in print and has given rise to many Page-a-Day calendars. The 25th anniversary edition of the book was published in October 2014. She is the editor of Roget's International Thesaurus.

Kipfer is Chief Lexicographer of the company Temnos. She has worked for such companies as Google, Dictionary.com and Thesaurus.com, Answers.com, Ask Jeeves, Bellcore/Telcordia, Federated Media Publishing, General Electric Research, IBM Research, idealab, Knowledge Adventure, Textdigger, The Chicago Tribune, and WolframAlpha. Barbara holds a PhD and MPhil in Linguistics (University of Exeter), a PhD in Archaeology (Greenwich University), an MA and a PhD in Buddhist Studies (Akamai University), and a BS in Physical Education (Valparaiso University).

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Sheri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Questions to ask others and even some questions to ask yourself. I can see this book being used in so many ways:

from a conversation starter (Where did you grow up?)
to a self reflection tool (How do you make your life more complex than it needs to be?)
to dreaming about the future (What is your dream retirement?)
and then to a walk down memory lane (What was your most memorable toy?)
and even as the start of a friendly debate. (Golf: luck or skill?)

There were also lots of good relationship questions to discuss with your partner as well as some good entries in the work chapter that could be used as interview questions. A fun and thought provoking read whether you are asking yourself the questions or asking someone else.

[Chantal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for when you want to conversate with people and can't come up with enough questions. Also great book to know people, or if you write with people. A great tool!

[Starbubbles · Rating 4 out of 5]

I brought this on a trip with some friends. It was great! Some of the questions repeated a smidge, just a few words changed to make a slightly different question. You really get to know people fast with all of these questions. They range from easy questions to fairly probing questions. I highly recommend this to anyone who is going to be spending time with people and might need some ideas to discuss.

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great tool for getting to know new people. Also, it is fun to pull out random questions while drinking with old friends.

[Christa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Exactly what you'd expect from the title: a bunch of questions to ask people and have them answer. Fun for getting to know people, or exploring the responses of people you already know.

[Joel Rockey · Rating 4 out of 5]

My wife bought this book before we were married, and we started reading it for fun during our dating years. It is a great conversation starter! We now pull it out during long road trips. Whether you've just met or you've known someone for years, this little book will help you learn things about each other you never knew. Such a fun read!

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book to have at get-togethers and parties and even just long family car rides.

[Sandra · Rating 1 out of 5]

the love&sex section I could answer every question with "wanna go to the bookstore". These questions were either so easy that I could answer them for someone else or they were stupid. Skip this

[Julie Pershing · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book to use for questions on social media.

[Demiko Davis-cherry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great for starting conversations

[Lizzie Markley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book to pull out when engaging with new groups of people - so many interesting questions across a wide array of topics all very relevant to today.

[Tammy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book gives you questions to get to know someone better. Some questions could also be used as discussion starters in groups. The questions are divided up in to chapters by general topic. Though the author talks about it being useful for talking to anyone in any situation, I think it would be wise to already know the person somewhat before using any of the questions in the politics and religion section. Also, I thought some of the other questions were rather personal and should only be asked of a close friend or perhaps someone you are dating but definitely not someone you just met.

[Sasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having had a couple of months to read over this book again, I think it prioritises quantity over quality of questions (although with 4,000 that was almost guaranteed). Had to spend some time looking through it to find ones that were not too depressing for a nice night out or too American, but there are some really interesting questions in it if you’re willing to wade through the bad ones.


OG review -
Oh my god this is so depressing

[DixieJo · Rating 3 out of 5]

So what's to say, I am in situations often where lulls come up in conversation.

[Deyne · Rating 5 out of 5]

While being on medical leave, this was a fun way to spend time with my family. Would be great for long road trips or with friends!

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intimacy isn't instant...

[Nguyen Ha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actually this is one of the worst books I have seen this year. I have learned nothing from, the questions is almost meaningless unless you always carry this book.

[Skerdjan Kroje · Rating 3 out of 5]

I used it with my social group and we had a great time(with some of the questions).
I think that the first chapter which I call the random question chaos should be put last.