Never Ask These 5 Questions
Yesterday while making small talk with the guy working the deli counter at my neighborhood grocery store, I asked him something that made me feel like a total heel. So I felt inspired to sit down and hammer out a short and simple article on 5 questions I have found are best to avoid asking altogether, as they have a significant chance of leading to awkwardness and the insertion of one’s foot into one’s mouth.
Here they are:
1. “Did you go there for fun?”
This was the question I asked the deli counter guy. He had told me he had been gone last week for a trip to Minnesota. To which I replied: “Ah cool. Did you go there just for fun?” His answer: “Actually it was for my grandfather’s burial.” Me: “Oh. I’m sorry.” Stares at feet.one doesn’t, in which case you’re inviting further tension into the conversation.
A better question: None — don’t ask. If they want to tell you about their plan for producing progeny, they will.
3. “Is this your mother/sister/daughter?”
You may feel like you know the relationship between two people, but you could be wrong. You ask if so-and-so is some guy’s daughter, and he replies, “She’s my girlfriend, actually.” Or you ask a lady if the woman standing next to her is her daughter, and — doh! — it turns out to be her sister.
A better question: “And who is this lovely lady I have the pleasure of meeting?”
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