Meet People From Other Countries With Genuine Curiosity

Understand the goal

Be curious about the person before the passport

Global conversation becomes interesting when you ask about a person’s experience rather than asking them to represent an entire country.

Location can open a topic, but interests, work, humor and daily life create the actual conversation.

Put it into practice

Ask questions with room for individual answers

Start with the most concrete action: what do visitors misunderstand about your city?. That creates an opening without requiring either person to perform a perfect conversation.

Use the other person’s response to decide what comes next, and keep what is ordinary there but surprising elsewhere? available when the interaction needs a clearer direction.

• ✓What do visitors misunderstand about your city?
• ✓What local food feels like home?
• ✓Which language are you most comfortable using?
• ✓What is ordinary there but surprising elsewhere?

Keep perspective

Avoid political tests, fetishization and national stereotypes

Treat “Avoid political tests, fetishization and national stereotypes” as a decision rule, not a slogan. Apply it when the conversation starts moving faster than your comfort or available information.

You can slow down, redirect or leave while remaining respectful. A boundary does not depend on persuading the other person that it is necessary.

A realistic next step

Trade perspectives instead of collecting facts

The practical follow-up is to trade perspectives instead of collecting facts. Make that next step small enough for both people to choose freely.

Use the next interaction as new information rather than a promise. In this context, what do visitors misunderstand about your city? remains more useful than trying to manufacture instant certainty.