There were 8 of us that night.
4 couples crowded around a tiny table in my friend Steve’s kitchen. Steve had invited us to join him and his wife for “wine and cheese and good conversation”.
None of us knew each other really. We knew Steve and Jackie but that was it. So why did we say yes?
Because we had all heard stories about the magic that happened around that table.
Stories of connection, and confession. Stories of new friendships, new discoveries, and new ideas being stoked like a fire. Stories of life-giving listening and side-splitting laughter.
All of these intentional conversations were brought on by Steve’s thoughtful questions. Questions that pushed past the small talk and drew all of us in for one authentic dialogue with eight individual voices.
After experiencing something so special and sacred, it’s hard to go back to small talk.
I started noticing small groups having a hard time pushing past the sports scores and weather. I would watch families out to dinner choosing phones over faces because they had nothing to say. I would cringe as longtime girlfriends would gather for fun without getting beyond the surface-level catch-up.
Why weren’t these groups really connecting? Because nobody asked the thoughtful questions.
A naturally curious question-asker, I started thinking about all the icebreaker questions I had used with women’s groups over the years. Those questions helped get the conversation started, but what would help keep it going?
What would help people point to conversations as the catalyst for something better in their relationships?
I thought back to Steve and the wine and cheese gatherings at his table and the idea for Conversation Cards was born.
Conversation Cards are a collection of 240 of my favorite powerful questions. Each card has 5 questions that go from light to more significant. The set includes 48 engaging themes like adventure, holidays, and heroes. Perfect for girlfriends, small groups, work teams, and families.
The cards seemed like a natural fit with HeartStories – spurring women on to more intimate and authentic connection. So I reached out to discuss a potential partnership. Crystal responded with enthusiasm, sharing about her recent experience with a friendship writing challenge. She shared that the shift of adding daily questions to spark deeper conversation in the HeartStories app was already in full swing.
We are thrilled to partner by incorporating the conversation card questions individually into the daily Spark section of HeartStories app.
Friend, please don’t settle for small talk anymore. My hope is that with Conversation Cards, you can be the one to ask the thoughtful questions that lead to intentional, life-giving, relationship-building conversations.
Isn’t that what we all want and need?
Julie Pierce
I have one big dream: to empower women leaders to change the world. I chase this wild dream through one-on one coaching, consulting teams and communicating with groups.
I would love to get to know you!
You can friend me on Facebook, follow me on Twitter (@julie_pierce) or check out my leadership and pie boards on Pinterest.
