Questions To Get To Know Someone

By: Carl Hose

Break Studios Contributing Writer

One of the best ways to get familiar with a potential romantic interest or a friend is by asking questions to get to know someone. Asking questions is a time-honored human tradition designed to help you judge someone's personality or determine commonalities between you and another person. Asking questions isn't rude, as long as the questions are presented respectfully and within the context of a normal conversation.

  1. Where were you born and raised? Asking someone where they were born and raised is an acceptable question that can tell you a lot about a person or shed light on a person's beliefs and cultural activities. Knowing where someone was born and raised is one of the basic pieces of information you can have about someone, especially if the person is someone you want to have a lasting relationship with.
  2. Questions about family. Asking questions about family can be particularly important in getting to know someone, especially if you are considering a romantic relationship and expect to meet family members. Factors such as whether or not the person grew up in a small or large family can give you insight into a person's personality. Questions about family may come up when discussing where someone was born and raised.
  3. Hobbies and interests. Questions about hobbies or interests are a great way to let someone know you are truly interested in learning about who she is. "Where do you like to hang out?" "Do you have any hobbies?" "What kind of music do you like?" and "What are your favorite books?" are questions you can ask to learn more about someone on a personal level.
  4. Religion and politics. Be careful about how you approach questions covering these subjects. Religion and politics are subjects that can cause tension in a relationship, but they are topics that need to be covered. Vast differences in beliefs about these topics can lead to troubled times in a relationship if they aren't addressed early on and boundaries set up regarding how these differences may be handled when they differ.
  5. Goals. You should have an interest in someone's goals when you are planning a relationship with them. Asking about a potential partner's goals in life is not only acceptable is a question that must be asked.
Posted on: Mar. 09, 2011