Campfire Notes

Ask Questions

Ask Questions

At camp, we spend a lot of time getting to know each other around the campfire, at meals, and while walking around camp. Many campers who were strangers to each other when they arrived at camp report feeling even closer to the cabin mates they’ve only known for a few weeks than they feel to school friends they’ve known for years. Why is that? One of the reasons is that they’ve had a lot of time to talk with each other. All those conversations help campers build strong friendships.

The best conversations involve asking each other good questions, listening well, and then asking follow up questions to keep the momentum going.

Before we talk about more about what kinds of questions to ask, I have a question for you.

What do people most like to talk about?

You may think the answer is something very specific – like sports or a favorite video game or TV show. It’s likely that when I asked that question you thought about what you most like to talk about. It’s true that people really enjoy talking about things they’re interested in. And what they’re most interested in are hobbies and things they enjoy most. People like to talk about themselves, so the best questions to ask to get to know someone better are questions that give them the opportunity to share their interests and stories.

When you ask good questions, it not only helps you get to know your friend better, but it also makes them like you more and want to spend more time with you.

Kids (and adults) who master question-asking, listening, and follow-up are well-liked because they give people the opportunity to share about themselves.

Since asking good questions is the entry point for building friendships wherever you are and whatever your age, it’s an excellent friendship skill to practice and improve.

How to Ask Good Questions

When you’re going into a new situation where you’ll be talking with people you’ve just met or if you’re wanting to build closer friendships with kids you already know, take a few minutes to brainstorm a few good questions you might ask that are appropriate to the setting.

If you’re at school and it’s recess or lunch, you might ask about their interests, favorite foods (perhaps spurred by something you see them snacking on), their family, or how they spend their time after school.

If you get nervous talking with people you don’t know, practice asking questions with your parent, older sibling, or another trusted adult before you go into the new setting. Get their feedback about which questions they enjoyed most.

Campers last summer brainstormed a lot of fun questions to ask friends. You can check out the list here if you want some question ideas!

Question Asking Tips

Once you’ve figured out a few good questions to ask, here are a few important tips:

After you’ve asked the question, listen carefully to the answer without interrupting. If you’re excited or agree with the person, nodding your head and smiling let’s them know you’re “with them” and interested.

Sometimes, their answer gives you the opportunity to ask follow up questions.

For example, you might have first asked,
“Do you like to play any sports?”

And they answer, “No, but I really enjoy music.”

You could ask, “Do you play an instrument or sing?”

And so on.

By listening to their response to your original question, you’ll have a path for figuring out more questions to ask.

If you’re chatting again another day, you can circle back and ask how their piano practice is going or what song they’re learning to play.

Showing your friend that you care about what they care about is a great way to build your friendship, so asking good questions and listening well not only helps you get to know your friend better but will also help you know what to ask them more about later.

Is there someone you’d like to get to know better? Think about a good question you can ask to get to know them better and ask the question next time you’re with them!

Below are 50 questions that our 2019 campers brainstormed. Click here for a printable version!

  • If you could have 5 things come out of your fingers what would they be?
  • If you could travel back in time, when and where would you go?
  • If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life what would it be?
  • What is your favorite sport?
  • What is your favorite drink?
  • What is your favorite kind of haircut?
  • What mythical creature do you want as a pet?
  • What are 3 adjectives your friends would use to describe you?
  • What do you do in your free time?
  • What kind of music do you like?
  • What song represents you as a person?
  • If you could be anyone for a day who would you be?
  • Do you prefer chewy or crunchy cookies?
  • What is your favorite chapstick flavor?
  • What is your favorite time of year?
  • What do you like to learn about?
  • What is your favorite ice cream topping?
  • How old are you?
  • Where are you from?
  • What is your favorite holiday?
  • If you could paint your room any crazy color what would it be?
  • What school do you go to?
  • If you were an ice cream flavor, what would you be?
  • What’s your dream job?
  • What is your favorite topping on pizza?
  • How many languages do you speak?
  • Do you have siblings?
  • Do you have pets?
  • What’s your favorite dipping sauce?
  • If you were a shape what shape would you be?
  • If you were an animal what would you be?
  • What is your favorite room in your house?
  • What is your favorite day of the week?
  • What is your favorite utensil (spoon, fork, spork)?
  • When is the last time you wore something silly on purpose?
  • If you could be placed in a fictional book/film/comic/etc…what would it be?
  • Where have you traveled?
  • What do you look for in a friend?
  • When was a time that you felt brave?
  • Where do you see yourself in 15 years?
  • What is your ideal sandwich?
  • What is your favorite hobby?
  • What is on your bucket list?
  • What are you passionate about?
  • Who inspires you?
  • What are your strengths?
  • What is your favorite color?
  • What makes you happy?
  • What is your favorite candy?
  • What’s your favorite breakfast?

Learn More

10 Friendship Skills Every Kid Needs

Talking with Kids about Friendship

10 Social Skills Kids Learn at Camp

Connection Through Questions

 

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Introduce Yourself Using WESTI

Introduce Yourself Using WESTI

Introducing yourself (Can you approach people on your own and meet them?) and introducing others (Can you help people meet one another?) are very basic and useful social skills. It’s a friendship skill we teach campers and encourage them to practice all year!

We use the acronym WESTI to remind us of some simple steps to introducing ourselves.

STEP 1: WARM SMILE

STEP 2: EYE CONTACT

Smile at the person you want to meet and make eye contact.

STEP 3: SHAKE THEIR HAND, GIVE A FIST BUMP OR WAVE

STEP 4: TELL THEM WHO YOU ARE AND HOW YOU’RE FEELING

“Hi, I’m Sunshine. I’m so excited you’re here!”

Practicing introducing ourselves.

STEP 5: INTRODUCE THEM TO SOMEONE ELSE

“Have you met Joe?”
“Sam, this is Joe. He goes to my school.”

While these steps may sound simple to adults, sometimes we forget to actually explain the process of introducing ourselves and others to our kids. Like most skills, with a bit of gentle coaching, our kids can improve tremendously in these areas!

This summer, we reviewed these steps with staff and campers.

When I ask campers how they think their time at camp has changed or influenced them, campers often say that they’ve learned better skills at meeting new people and making new friends.  Campers say that because of camp they are much more confident about meeting new people and making new friends. Some mention that they are more confident about starting at a new school or joining a new team or club because they know how to meet people and have learned to be more open and approach others with a smile and simple introduction.

Introducing themselves and introducing others is an important and useful social skill that we can easily coach our kids to master using these simple steps.

10 Friendship Skills Every Kid Needs

Ep. 2: 10 Friendship Skills Every Kid Needs

Making Friends: 3 Communication Skills Your Child Needs

Making Friends: Developing Emotional Intelligence

Making Friends: Managing Difficult Emotions

5 Steps to Help Kids Resolve Conflicts

http://www.parentingscience.com/kids-make-friends.html

http://micheleborba.com/teaching-kids-friendship-making-skills/

http://www.sheknows.com/parenting/articles/816710/Teaching-kids-how-to-make-friends-at-school

 

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