Ever found yourself stuck in traditional small talk with someone you just met while you really wanted to get to know them on a deeper level? Too often we just talk about the weather, what our work is, and where we are from — but those things don’t *really* teach us much that’s meaningful!

Here are five tried and true conversation starters that are both safe to use and extremely powerful at breaking through the small talk and getting into a conversation of real substance.

• What are you really passionate about/interested in?
• What has been the best part of your day/week so far?
• What are you struggling with lately?
• What are some things on your bucket list?
• What are you really really good at?

These kinds of open ended questions give the person an opening to share something real with you so that you can really get to know something important and have a chance of “clicking” with each other.

Want more? Download a whole list of kickass conversation starters here: