Michael, reading card: “What do you think about the most when you’re by yourself?”
The Ask Deep Questions card
deck was developed by Jan Keck as a tool for getting past small talk and into
meaningful conversations. What exactly makes a question deep, and a
conversation meaningful? In this episode, Jan explains to me how he came to
develop the cards, and how he sees vulnerability as the key to human
connection. Then, since talking about the cards isn’t nearly as interesting as
using them, I get together with a group of Megaphonic hosts and friends of
this podcast to tackle some of the questions themselves. We approach them with
questions of our own: Is vulnerability the only key to connection, or are
there other ways to connect? Can you have true vulnerability without venturing
into difficult territory that risks negativity and conflict? And answering the
questions on the cards does indeed spark a great, wide-ranging conversation
that touches on everything from the nature of intuition, to mortality,
adolescent body dysmorphia, Chris’s aversion to being remembered, and the
fascinating worlds inside Michael’s head.
Guest.
Jan Keck is a community addict. He is the
creator of Ask Deep Questions,
which started out as a deck of cards to help his friends connect on a camping
trip and is now being used to facilitate meaningful conversations through
sharing personal stories on every continent around the globe. Jan’s mission is
to help people feel less lonely, so by creating experiences, workshops and
programs he is fueling the movement for deeper human connection. Growing up as
an only child, he found his soul family at summer camp, in sports clubs and
even politics. But when he moved from Germany to Canada in his twenties he had
to re-create his community from scratch and learned that the fastest way to
make deep connections is through meaningful conversations and experiences. Jan
now lives in Toronto with his wife Natalia (aka Cookie), his son Mika and cat
Gato and you can often find him hanging out with his mastermind groups,
attending community events, or camping up north.
The players.
Suzanne Conklin Akbari, of The Spouter-Inn.
Melissa Brizuela, returning from episode
3.
Michael Collins, of This is Your Mixtape
and Dear Reader.
Chris Piuma, your producer, and host of The Spouter-Inn and The Scene Of The
Show Notes.
The Ask Deep Questions card deck.
A video introduction to the Ask Deep Questions
cards, with tips on how to use
Support The Opposite of Lonely on Patreon
and you can hear the entire conversation—and join us on a members-only Slack!