I share this perspective. If I am actually curious about your experience with X, I might start by telling you mine. That gives you a natural way to follow up wi

I share this perspective. If I am actually curious about your experience with X, I might start by telling you mine. That gives you a natural way to follow up with yours and also gives you my context. It also makes it less awkward for you to change the subject without having to explicitly deny answering a question (or play politician by dodgning it). Most people seem to agree this is preferred with the basics: "Hi, I'm baobun, great to meet you!" vs "Hi, what's your name?" I on the other hand don't get the expectation that conversation should be structured like a Q&A or interview. But sure, if I notice my conversation-partner is "an inrerviewer" I try to calibrate accordingly. Remember OP is a anglosaxan reporter and seems unaware of that cultural bias. Flipping the opening: > ‘Over-askers’ can come across as selfish – but there might be personal and societal reasons for their inability to share first It's a "me" problem exactly as much as it's a "you" problem. Communication is a two-way street on all levels. Leaving space is important no matter what and a 20 minute breathless monologue without giving openings is rude regardless of its ending in a question-mark.