Take this gem out for a spin for lively and lighthearted connections
by Jordan Myska Allen, a lover of life and entrepreneur. He acts as a psychological, spiritual, and professional consultant and practices applied integral thinking.
How about this for an interesting conversation starter: “What is one thing about pop culture you would get rid of, and one thing you would like to bring back?”
My cousin asked a bunch of members of our family this question at breakfast recently. I like it because it is fun, open ended, offers the possibility of depth, but is also harmless enough not to put people off. There is no necessity to get into divisive topics but you can go there if you want.
I answered it in my typical fashion—on the more academic, perhaps deeper end—mentioning that I would get rid of the polarized political climate (especially in the news, to tie it into pop culture), and bring back the spirit of political debate from the era of the Federalist Papers.
My cousin took a different tact. He said he would end the onslaught of zombie movies and bring back World War II era video games.
I enjoyed both of our answers; they both seemed to conjure smiles and jokes all around. While mine offered good food for thought—in ways that kept coming up throughout the weekend—his engendered a longer, more spirited conversation. The zombie conversation kept coming up throughout the weekend too, which is unsurprising since returning is what zombies were made for.
So what would you get rid of, and what would you return—perhaps in the spirit of happiness? What other good conversation starters do you use to allow for silliness and seriousness?