I was once coaching a nurse in a hospital. She commented that her unit was very inhospitable. The residents and interns would walk right by without even making eye contact or saying hello. She had tried greeting them, smiling, and nearly walking right into them. Despite these efforts, she still received no acknowledgment from the doctors. I suggested that she try an experiment. Instead of greeting them with a statement (e.g., Hello), I told her to “greet” them with a question (e.g., “How is it going?”, “What’s up?”, “How are you”?). She called two days later. Nearly every doctor and intern had responded to her. She was elated.

Humans seem to have an innate need to respond to questions. If you want to engage someone, just ask them a question…you’ll have them hooked in no time.