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VERY QUICKLY31 Jan 2025
Have you been boomerasked today?
- “What are your weekend plans?” “Just hanging out at home. Yours?” “Oh gosh, I have back-to-back weddings this weekend. It’s going to be crazy.”
- If you’ve experienced some version of the above, congratulations: you’re a victim of boomerasking.
- According to Harvard Business School professor, Alison Wood Brooks, boomerasking is when you ask someone a question, expecting it to be returned. What looks like an attempt to show interest in another person’s life is actually a sneaky way to talk about yourself (much like a boomerang).
- Brooks and Yeomans’ study suggests boomeraskers think starting with a question makes others feel included and keeps things polite. But they found it often comes off as insincere for the person at the receiving end.
- If you find yourself doing it, just don’t. If you find a co-worker or friend doing it, make it your good deed of the day by calling them out. If your boss does it, smile and nod?
