Over the course of the past few months, I’ve grown to appreciate a good interviewer. I’ve had a series of phone interviews lately that have inspired me. Not only did they ask great questions, but these interviewers also let me participate in the creative process, albeit inadvertently.

Allowing people to wander a bit around the questions is a preferred tactic to a quick, sound-byte’y, give-me-all-you-got interrogation style. This is something you might learn in college, say, during your anthropology field training, but modern life, with all of its hyper-distillation and everything-right-now-ness, begs us not to actually practice this uncalculated wandering.

Surprising ideas and true innovation come from discussion, from the gray and half-shaped areas, not from a prepared list of talking points.

Take some time this month to interview someone you find interesting, family, friend or even a stranger. Let them wander; be sure to listen. Hop on a tangent and see where you both end up.