I’m terrible at asking questions. Even when it comes to talking with people that I admire or want to understand more, I find it difficult to ask questions that unlock people. But I was inspired to ask great questions by Marc Prachter’s 2008 TED talk. Prachter shares about a series of interviews, or “living portraits” that he collected for the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. Prachter is passionate about asking great questions as an interviewer, and talks about the importance of empathy in unlocking who people really are. Check out his talk below.

“Everybody, in their lives, is really waiting for people to ask them questions so that can be truthful about who they are and how they became who they are.” – Marc Prachter