9 Ways to Answer Tactless Questions

How old are you?

Previously, it was considered tactless to ask this question exclusively to women, but even men should not be asked about this, because many of them strive to look younger than their age and deliberately monitor their health and appearance.

If you really want to know the age of your interlocutor, make inquiries about him; on social networks, people sometimes indicate their date of birth. Just please don’t use the phrase “apparently, we are the same age.” She seems harmless, but suddenly you are mistaken.

What to answer when asked about years? I sometimes jokingly say, “I’m 98.” You can laugh it off too, the main thing is not to offend anyone with your humor. Yes, the interlocutor put you in an awkward position, but this does not mean that you must definitely repay him in the same coin. You can also tell the truth, there is nothing wrong with that. Another thing is that an honest answer may provoke additional remarks: “Oh, you look younger than your age” or “I thought you were younger.” In the first case, you can thank for the compliment, in the second, you can simply ignore the remark.

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Do you believe in God?

You can talk about the topic of religion if the interlocutor himself brought it up. For example, he mentioned that he goes to church. But there is no point in initiating such a dialogue. Still, faith is an intimate matter; true believers do not like it when someone gets into their soul. Such conversations are appropriate only with loved ones.

Even if you see that a person, for example, wears a cross or some other attributes of faith (although from the point of view of etiquette they should not be demonstrated), this does not give you the right to ask him questions about religion. Sometimes the same cross does not mean anything. There are people for whom this is the most common decoration.

Sometimes Directness is the Best Option: The Art of Shooting from the Hip

Sometimes the best way to answer a difficult question is to give it a completely straight answer. Such directness can stun and disarm an opponent. Some of you are probably thinking right now: “You should always shoot on the move, from the hip. A real man doesn’t shy away from straight answers!”

This, of course, sounds great, but it doesn’t always work. Every day we avoid all sorts of answers. And when someone asks, “How are you?” - we answer: “Well, yesterday I had a little fight with my wife, and besides, my truck needs new brakes.” We all redirect questions, and often only partially answer the exact questions we were asked.

In the art of improvisation, the most important thing is to know how and what to respond in circumstances that vary within very wide limits.

What are you sick with?

If you meet an acquaintance at the clinic, do not ask what brought him there. Perhaps the person came to a venereologist, and it is unlikely that he will want to share such information with you. Questions about health are taboo.

The only situation in which you can break this prohibition is when the person next to you becomes ill. For example, he suddenly turned white or began to stagger. Then it is appropriate to ask: “Are you okay? Are you feeling unwell? If they answer you: “Everything is fine, it will pass now,” there is no need to find out further details. Your main task is to understand whether help is needed and, if necessary, provide it.

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How to answer the questions: “How is life” or “How are you doing” so as not to be jinxed?

To answer and continue a friendly conversation, you need to answer correctly, without hurting someone else’s dignity, saying only what will be understood and accepted adequately. For example, something funny. If you say that everything is great and financially prosperous, this may upset your friend, because for him everything may be completely opposite.

One of these days I'm giving up

“Katz offers to surrender!”

Things are like a convertible: it’s fine, but there’s no roof!

You have to pay for the roof, but here it’s wet, damp, and windy, but it’s free!

Nothing…

The belly grows like a Watermelon, but the tail dries out...

Like in a pharmacy - expensive, but necessary!

It makes me sick, but I need to fly!

Herosho (good).

This means it sucks. Original gesture: long and understandable to everyone.

In random order…

Like Lenin, they don’t feed and don’t bury!

Do you have your own hair or a wig?

This question can be asked in different ways: you have your own lips or have had them done, you have your own breasts or have implants inserted, your own eyelashes or extensions, etc. But they all have one thing in common - they are tactless. There is no need to be overly curious. Remember, even if a colleague absolutely definitely has eyelash extensions (such changes are hard to miss), until she herself confirms this fact, these are just your guesses. Moreover, there is no need to share your impressions of what you see if you were not asked to do so. “Why did you do your eyebrows?” - it’s better to keep such comments to yourself. Give the person the opportunity to look the way he sees fit.

Of course, when we are talking about two close friends, you can ask about some kind of manipulation with appearance. But again, if you have not been asked to give an assessment, remain silent. Friendship will be more valuable. You especially shouldn’t start a conversation on this topic in the presence of strangers.

Start laughing

Sometimes the question “Why don’t you have a boyfriend?” may take you by surprise. And the only thing that can come to your mind is laughter. What, in principle, can we say? This is actually such a stupid question. And if you hear it for the fifth time in a day, the situation may actually amuse you.

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So instead of overthinking your answer, just start laughing. This is the best response and defensive reaction.

You are pregnant?

If a woman's interesting position is visible to the naked eye, it is foolish to pretend that you do not notice it. In such a situation, you can simply say: “Am I understanding correctly, can I congratulate you?” But if you are not one hundred percent sure of your guesses, it is better to remain silent, because sometimes your stomach appears from dumplings and cakes.

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How much do you earn?

For those who like to ask this indecent question, I’ll say - don’t get into someone else’s wallet. How to answer it? Just avoid specific numbers: “good, enough to live on,” “average salary in the industry, nothing outstanding,” etc.

Even when talking with loved ones, you should always take into account the other person’s willingness to talk about salary. For example, you ask a friend who has found a new job: “Are you going to get more money now?” He answers you: “Yes,” but does not give a specific figure. This means that you just need to close this topic, because the person is not ready to discuss his financial affairs.

Why ask questions?

Few people know how to ask questions correctly. Even fewer people know how to ask the right questions. This requires a certain amount of curiosity, erudition and wisdom. Therefore, most often we are interested in superficially, we judge and criticize without reason.

Many inventions arose as an answer to the question “What if...?” Scientists, psychologists, philosophers, businessmen, and even the same inventors ask themselves tons of questions, are interested in the world around them and their own. Many of them have achieved success thanks to this habit.

Swimming coach Dan Lange asks his students every day how they are feeling. The answer “good” is not accepted. You need to be extremely precise. You need to talk about how they are feeling mentally, physically and emotionally. Depending on the answers, Lange conducts personal training.

Other people give themselves a 30-day challenge. They come up with 900 questions for each other and must answer 30 of them every day. You can imagine that after a month the brain will work completely differently than before, and that this is a very useful exercise. In short, ask yourself more questions and answer them. In this article, we'll look at the main benefits of asking questions.

We learn about life

It is scientifically proven that we learn about life by asking questions. Children begin to explore the world by observing, testing, and asking “Why?” With the help of questions, children learn to see cause-and-effect relationships and learn the meaning of words.

Have you stopped asking a lot of questions or have you stopped asking them altogether? What's happened? Have you really experienced life in all its diversity? The greatest minds of mankind admit that they do not understand anything and continue to learn every day. Be the same: learn and ask questions.

The more questions, the better the answers

As we have already said, with age the flow of questions dries up and we simply wallow in what we already know. And when the model of the world fails, we criticize the government, the interlocutor, or anyone else. Whenever we encounter an obstacle, the brain tries to find the simplest and easiest answer within the framework we have created for it. This is why we often behave illogically: we make the first decision as the best and rational one. But the more information and experience we have, the more options we have for solving problems.

The quality of our lives depends on the quality of our questions

The quality of our life directly depends on the quality of our thinking. And questions are the engine, the driving force of thinking.

Remember: the more good questions you ask, the better you understand the world and the more effectively you can solve problems.

If you are constantly asking yourself “How can I make my life easier?”, “How can I do this job better?”, “How can I invest my money correctly?” and find the answers, you will change your life for the better. Stupid people know all the answers in the world, so they don't ask questions. And when their life goes bad, they are not inclined to blame themselves. Everyone else is to blame. This is how their life goes.

So don't be stupid and always stay curious.

Asking questions makes you more flexible

Questions form new patterns in our brains. The more of them there are, the more flexible it becomes (that's why it's not the templates themselves that are bad, but the fact that there are few of them). Thanks to flexibility, the brain can access more information stored in it.

Imagine that for each question you receive three peas, symbolizing knowledge. With three you can turn them into nine. Then there will be twenty-seven of them and so on ad infinitum. A man who doesn't ask questions has no peas. He formed his knowledge base until 27 and is no longer developing. In a difficult situation, he will behave too predictably.

Asking questions makes you smarter

When your brain becomes more flexible, you become receptive to different points of view and less biased in your decisions. Many call this wisdom, rationality and true intelligence.

Nobody knows which method makes a person smarter the fastest. But one thing we know for sure: asking questions is one of the top five skills. We all want answers so badly, but we don’t know how to ask questions. Often the question is even more important than the answer.

Each of us has gaps in knowledge and education. All this makes it difficult to get an overall picture of any area. Questions are clarifications, a way to close knowledge gaps and get the full picture. Such a person can be called truly smart.

Asking the right questions creates happiness

We have all experienced feelings of peace, calm and harmony, but few have taken the time to understand where these feelings come from. When we ask ourselves this important question and begin to dig deep, we begin to understand how we can experience this experience more often. We understand that we ourselves are the creators of our feelings. They don't just happen to us.

Ask yourself these simple but profound questions: