Intellectual honesty

sincere curiosity and willingness to be stupid

being really interested

A cup of curiosity

A dash of intrigue

A pinch of spice

Add salt to taste

Cover and let it simmer for 5 minutes, stirring regularly with current events

Serve immediately

Ask when:

. You don't know

. Want to know

. Need to know

Ask in such a way that it leaves room for the listener to respond and allows for the conversation to evolve.

Instead of:

'are you having a good day?'

(binary, just asking the listener for affirmation or denial)

Ask:

'what kind of a day are you having?'

(Open ended, let's the answer be nuanced and leads to further conversation)

Not being overconfident

http://www.catb.org/esr/faqs/smart-questions.html