Can I Ask You A Question? is a book of meaningful questions designed to deepen your relationship with anyone — friends, family, your significant other, even complete strangers.
I wish I had had “Can I ask you a question?” years ago. There were important people in my life with whom I had trouble having a meaningful conversation. They are gone now and I have regrets. I realize this book would have opened up a whole new side of the relationship. Not only do I enjoy using this book with others but I find it interesting to reflect and have conversations with myself!
I bought this book after hearing the author's interview with her father on the podcast People I Mostly Admire. After a lifetime of struggling with ways to get beyond the superficial, this is the book I have found most helpful. It is such a clarifying set of questions that are fun, challenging, and engaging to ask myself and others.
For all the interesting ideas Steven Levitt has brought to my life over the years, he has never given me anything even close to what Amanda has. This book turned my 9 year old daughter into a vibrant and talkative young lady at the dinner table, the polar opposite of the downtrodden curmudgeon she was before—barely grunting an acknowledgment to any of the sincerely interested questions her insufferably dull parents might have for her about her day. I joke, but this really was a great book to help our daughter come out of the Covid shell she’d built around herself. A hearty 5 stars from this Dad.
This book has been great getting me back into close meaningful conversations with people. During COVID I think many of us lost some of our conversation skills and this book has helped jumpstart conversations that go deeper then just simple politeness.
Have read out questions with in-laws, have read some with mates at the pub, and have read a bunch with my wife. Every time has been a great conversation and just when you think people are getting tired of it someone says "so what's the next question??"
I really love this book. My wife and I, who have been together 14 years have been going through these questions on our nights out. I kind of thought I knew everything about her, but am finding myself constantly surprised by her answers.
The questions are really well thought through and thought provoking. A big thankyou for many hours of enjoyment and entertainment.
You can instantly feel the time, thought, and heart that author Amanda has put into crafting each of these unique and insightful questions. Each one is only a few words, yet holds potential to create an instantly meaningful connection with another person. As a fellow author dedicated to helping people connect, I've come across hundreds of "best questions to ask a friend / your date / a stranger" lists - but the questions in this book are above and beyond any of the standard (and boring!) "get to know you" ones. They provide a whole new level of depth and insight, both for the question asker and the person answering!
I had some great conversations around "Does my name suit me" and "What name could I pull off." It was a lot of fun to think about names that would suit my friends.
As an "Old" - in my 40s - I'd like more non-tech, non-social media, non-music questions. But I'm still in the intro section so maybe I'll get to that as I keep going.
A view into the minds of others you thought you knew
My husband and I read this together and we also include the kids sometimes at dinner. We take turns asking questions. It's interesting to hear how each one answers but also to hear how each one perceives each question. They sometimes think of the question differently than I would which gives me a look into their mind I haven't seen before! It's been very fun to get to know my family in this different way.
Such a great gift for the holidays when family is together. We spent hours answering questions from not even half of the book! I learned a lot about my family and I’m looking forward to doing it again at the next family event.
My team was hesitant when I took out the book but then had great conversations and bonded when I asked them questions from it in a multi-day team offsite. I gave everyone a copy in the end. Thank you, Amanda!
