{"id":15685,"date":"2019-08-07T17:03:35","date_gmt":"2019-08-07T23:03:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.virtuance.com\/?p=15685"},"modified":"2019-08-07T17:03:35","modified_gmt":"2019-08-07T23:03:35","slug":"curious-questions-to-rephrase-apartment-therapy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.virtuance.com\/member\/blog\/curious-questions-to-rephrase-apartment-therapy\/","title":{"rendered":"Curious Questions You Might Not Realize Sound Rude (And How to Rephrase Them)"},"content":{"rendered":"
Source: Apartment Therapy<\/h5>\n
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You\u2019re naturally curious about a friend\u2019s home, or their relationship, or their partner\u2019s line of work, but your sincere questions could be coming off as rude if you don\u2019t know the right way to phrase them. By switching some words around, you can ask questions<\/a><\/span> that will inspire excited, vibrant answers and better conversation<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

\"rp_best_kitchen_virtuance_real_estate_photography002-1024x682.jpg\"<\/a>
Virtuance Real Estate Photography<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Here\u2019s the crux of it: Your interest is coming from the right place, but sometimes your questions are one-sided, designed to discover what you want to know and not necessarily what your conversation partner wants to talk about. Instead, you just need to spin your words around to get people to open up about whatever\u00a0they <\/em>want to share.<\/p>\n

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If you want to inspire better answers and better conversation, vow to stop asking these 6 questions once and for all:<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cWhat do you do?\u201d<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Instead ask:<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cWhat\u2019s been keeping you busy?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Why:<\/strong>\u00a0The work question inspires awkward vibes when asked to somebody who is un- or under-employed. The re-write gives people an opportunity to share what they\u2019re really excited about lately\u2013school, children, hobbies<\/a><\/span>\u2013without addressing anything they don\u2019t want to discuss.<\/p>\n

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\u201cDo you have a boyfriend\/girlfriend yet?\u201d<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Instead ask:<\/strong> \u201cWho have you been hanging out with these days?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Why:\u00a0<\/strong>Not everyone\u2019s just walking around trying to figure out who to shack up with next. And even if they are, no need to remind them that it\u2019s not going so well. If they\u2019re smitten with a new someone, they\u2019ll tell you. If not, they\u2019ll mention their great group of friends or some coworkers they\u2019re happy to have gotten to know recently.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWhen are you two having kids?\u201d<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Instead ask:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cWhat\u2019s next for you and your husband\/wife?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Why:<\/strong>\u00a0This question can be really harmful to a couple that is trying to conceive, and it\u2019s somewhat annoying to couples who choose to be childless. If they want (and can have) children, they\u2019ll talk about it. But they might also open up about their wishes for a future home, pets or a dream vacation<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

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\u201cHow much did you pay for that?\u201d<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Instead ask:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cDo you have any secrets for getting a good deal?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Why:<\/strong>\u00a0You\u2019re probably asking how much a thing costs\u2013the sofa, a TV, their new range<\/a><\/span>\u2013because you suspect it\u2019s expensive, yeah? And you\u2019re wondering if you might be able to have something so nice? Instead of putting your conversation partner on the spot with their finances, ask if they know any tricks to finding a good bargain. You might find out about a great sale or out of the way second-hand store.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cHow much is your rent?\u201d<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Instead Ask:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cDo you think rent is reasonable in this area?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Why:<\/strong>\u00a0If you\u2019re asking because you\u2019re in the market, the re-write is a much more tactful way to go about getting the low-down on market rates in a new neighborhood<\/a><\/span>. If your conversation partner wants to offer up what they pay, they\u2019ll do it here. If not, they might have some great insight into an affordable building or a great broker.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cWhen will you be done with the house?\u201d<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Instead ask:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cWhat\u2019s your latest home project?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Why:<\/strong>\u00a0No need to put pressure on somebody who\u2019s in the midst of fixing up a fixer-upper<\/a><\/span>. It\u2019s about the journey, not the destination. If you\u2019re curious about how the renovations are going, ask about the project they\u2019re thinking about or working on right now.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Re-edited from a post originally published 10.5.15-NT<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Source: Apartment Therapy You\u2019re naturally curious about a friend\u2019s home, or their relationship, or their partner\u2019s line of work, but your sincere questions could be coming off as rude if you don\u2019t know the right way to phrase them. By switching some words around, you can ask questions that will inspire excited, vibrant answers and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14503,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.virtuance.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15685"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.virtuance.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.virtuance.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.virtuance.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14503"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.virtuance.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15685"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/staging.virtuance.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15685\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15688,"href":"https:\/\/staging.virtuance.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15685\/revisions\/15688"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.virtuance.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.virtuance.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.virtuance.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}