Curated Questions: Conversations Celebrating the Power of Questions! The Catalyst for Collaborative Conversations | Chad Littlefield #26
"Pay attention in conversations and to the questions that you ask because they can have a profound effect on people." - Chad Littlefield
Chad Littlefield is the co-founder and Chief Experience Officer of We and Me (www.weand.me). The organization aims to help leaders, educators, and events make connection easy. His successful 2015 Kickstarter for We! Connect Cards: Create Conversations that Matter, which is comprised of cards with questions on the front and a stretch on the back intended to make conversations fun and meaningful. Forbes calls Chad a “global expert on asking questions that build trust and connection in teams.” He is a TEDx speaker, bestselling author, and creator of Connection Toolkit™, which is now being used to create conversations that matter on campuses and companies in over 80 countries worldwide.
Chad and his late partner Will Wise launched their books How to Make Virtual Engagement Easy and Ask Powerful Questions: Create Conversations that Matter, both #1 Amazon Bestsellers. Chad's YouTube channel has over a million views, and he hosts the annual Connectors Summit in December to bring people together to hone their skills and meet like-minded people leading the vital work of connecting. He lives and delivers the enthusiasm you expect for someone trying to change the world through intentional connection.
The conversation delves into the transformative power of asking meaningful questions and building connections. Chad shares his journey of discovering the impact of questions, We Connect Cards' origin, and intention's role in effective questioning. The discussions also explore practical strategies for fostering deep connections and the societal impact of genuine curiosity. Full of insights and practical advice, this episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in enhancing their communicative skills and fostering stronger relationships.
Episode Notes
[00:00] Introduction to Curated Questions
[01:05] Meet Chad Littlefield
[02:57] Chad's Journey with Questions
[05:14] The Impact of Powerful Questions
[05:40] World in Conversation
[08:22] The Essence of Connection
[11:31] The Role of Intention in Questions
[12:16] Chad's Origin Story
[20:17] The Power of Conversations
[25:50] Intentional Connections
[38:55] The Power of Clear Intentions
[39:42] Genuine Curiosity in Networking
[40:22] Exercises for Building Connections
[41:35] Responding to Spam with Value
[47:18] The Magic of a Second Question
[49:08] Creating Connection Tools
[53:03] The Right Now Question
[57:33] The Connector Summit Experiment
[01:02:21] Social Accountability Through Questions
[01:02:40] Final Thoughts and Encouragements
Resources Mentioned
How to Make Virtual Engagement Easy
Ask Powerful Questions: Create Conversations that Matter
Chad Littlefield YouTube Channel
Patch Adams Movie with Robin Williams
TEDx Talk by Chad Littlefield
Peter Block: Connection Before Content
University of New Mexico Mentoring Institute
Eric Tyler High School Teacher
Kim (Chad's Chief of Staff)
Chad Littlefield (The Other One)
Questions Asked
When did you first understand the power of questions?
Are you ready for your life to change?
How did it impact the other students?
Who is this guy?
What is life teaching you right now?
Are you doing this out of social obligation or do you actually care?
Are you interested?
Is your intent other-centric as opposed to me-centric?
Where do you trace your roots back to some variation of what you'd consider connection?
How did you get into this business or this world?
Where would I be at?
Was that Hollywood or can connection actually heal people in some way and mend relationships, even extending to physical ailments?
How much do you charge to speak?
How did Will view questions?
Did he have any unique perspectives on questions or how they might be used, or how he used them?
What do I do?
What's going on right now for you?
What is something you would like to do more of
In my future, is this possible?
Are you looking at your schedule and thinking that, or are you carrying this into the conversation with the folks at the coffee shop?
How are you living this?
What do you think that we often get wrong about connection?
Any guesses to how many questions kids ask per day?
When do you need me home? What should we eat tonight? Want me to pick up subs?
Why have we stopped asking?
Why do we ask so few questions if we know so little about most things?
How are you?
What's good about it? What's fine about it?
Have you ever been asked this question before?
How did you come up with that list?
What could I just put in between these two people and make that go better?
What questions are you working with right now?
What's taking up lots of your brain space right now?
How honest do I want to be?
How vulnerable do I want to be?
What is the highest amount of value that you can give to a person or a group in the shortest amount of time for the most amount of money?
Anybody want to come?
When would you like to have that done?
When would you like to send me that first draft answer by?
Do you have any other thoughts or encouragements about questions that we haven't necessarily explored that you were looking forward to being able to talk about as we came in?
Where's the best place for folks to catch up with you, and see what you're excited about and learn more about you?
What is something you would like to do more of?