Curiosity turns conversations into connections.
One of the most striking findings from our 2026 Real-Time Business Conversation Index wasn’t that organizations value conversations. 98% of the senior executives who participated agreed that conversations are critical to their business success. It was that only 11% believed their business conversations were extremely effective. So the question I keep asking myself is…
Why do so many of our business conversations fall short?
Curiosity
One answer, which I witness continually in my workshops and coaching, is that we don’t allow ourselves to be curious. The world we live in is a full-tilt rush. We feel like we haven’t got the time to learn more, ask additional questions, lean into the conversation. Getting to the next step is more important than learning more, and so is completing a task so we can get on to the next task and the next, etc.
Assumptions
Another reason could be that we’ve done our AI-infused browsing, and we believe we know what we need to know. Additional questions are then seen as a waste of time, and curiosity is a nice-to-have at social events and on vacation.
The result is that something dangerous enters our conversations – assumptions. Assumptions allow us to shorten our conversations. They also set us up to make mistakes, which slows down outcomes and costs both time and money.
Fear of Being Nosy
Another aspect of curiosity is that we can confuse it with nosiness. The word ‘nosy’, which surfaced around 1610, literally meant having a prominent nose (think Cyrano de Bergerac). Then in 1890, the phrase ‘Nosy Parker’ arrived, referring to someone who snoops, asks overly personal questions and even eavesdrops.
Curiosity, on the other hand, comes to us from the late 14th century and means careful attention to detail, skilled workmanship and desire to know or learn, inquisitiveness.
Curiosity is the skill we use when we want to understand someone.
In case you’re thinking, “That’s nice, but I simply want to sell to them,” or “I want to quickly solve their problem,” or “I need them to move faster on this project”, know that curiosity accomplishes all these things. Why? Because it always improves understanding, strengthens relationships, reveals the reason a prospect will purchase and a customer will be satisfied, signals strong leadership, and maximizes collaboration.
While it feels like our world rewards conversations that are fast, certain and lead to quick opinions, our communication success relies on patience, uncertainty and listening.
Curiosity lives in open-ended questions, the ones that start with who, what, where, when and how. It can be challenging to come up with these questions spontaneously. There is an easy workaround. The universal open-ended question that works every time is simply, “Tell me more.” It expresses genuine interest in the other person and champions eliminating assumptions.
The Mindset Shift
Consider this simple, actionable change to your conversations: Instead of focusing on being interesting, start being interested. The positive results in your sales, customer service and teamwork will be immediate.
Try This This Week
For the next seven days, in both your business and personal conversations, replace assumptions with questions. When you catch yourself thinking: “I know what they mean,” or “I know why they did that,” or “I know what they need,” pause and ask that person a question instead.
And once each day, use “Tell me more.” Then listen, not to respond or solve, simply to understand.
You’ll be surprised by how much there is to discover in conversations you thought were already finished.
I’m always curious about how these ideas impact your work. I both enjoy and learn from hearing about your experiences, so leaving comments and feedback below is always appreciated.
