6 New C1 Questions: A Must Read for APUAs

[Rain]

Here are some questions I discovered while studying in business school. They come from a set of questions employers are now asking in interviews. They are designed to discover more about the applicant than the standard, "What is your best quality and what would you like to improve on?" I figured that C1 is a lot like an interview, but the, ahem, 'position' is different. I've recently used these questions in-set.
6 Interview Questions

1. You must plan your own death. How old are you? How does it happen? And what is the funeral like?
2. You can be any animal. What are you? You can marry any animal except your own species. What kind of animal do you marry?
3. You can pick your parents from any point in time; they can be real or fictional. Who are they?
4. We have found a stargate and you can travel to any location and time. To what 3 places would you go? OK. Now, what if once you cross through, you learn you cannot return? In which of the three places would you stay?
5. If you had to have a tattoo, what and where would it be?
6. You can invite five people to dinner, real or fictional, from any place or time. Who do you invite to dinner and why?

Here are some suggestions on how to interpret the answers to these questions. I am not a psychologist, but do have a brief knowledge of psychology and a more extensive knowledge on consumer behavior. Therefore, don't think too deeply about these answers. And don't be her therapist either. Use these as a guide on how to interpret her answers as well as what to interpret. This is meant to be an interesting way to discover something you like about her, so lead the interpretation in that direction.
Interpretations of her answers

1. Talking about how you would like to die says a lot about how you would like to live. This is a great point of reference for commonality. Finding someone who wants to live like you want to live is really special. Most of us aren't living as we'd like to, sharing that desire brings you that much closer to achieving it.
2. Confident people pick animals who possess qualities they like about themselves. Insecure people pick animals they admire. When selecting an animal for their spouse, they usually select an animal that is least like their last or current BF. For instance, if she says she would be a dolphin it means she admires freedom, intelligence, cuteness, beauty. If she chooses a dog for her spouse's animal, it means that she abhors disloyalty and her ex probably cheated on her.
3. Only those most comfortable with themselves and their families will answer with their own parents. The person's choices for her parents often reflect the qualities and/or conditions that were absent in her upbringing. Rather than draw attention to this, point out that fact that these are qualities which they want to instill in their own children. For instance if her dad was Einstein, she would like her children to be smart and great thinkers. If she wants her mother to be Amelia Earhart, she wants her children to have independence.
4. The places in time and space people choose tell you what kinds of feelings they want to feel when they are free of limits and stressors in their lives. If they choose Mars, they like to feel discovery and newness. If they choose prehistoric Earth, they like uncertainty and danger. The place they decide to stay often represents the extreme feelings they are most comfortable with. For instance if their third option was Antarctica, they are most comfortable feeling alone, versus discovery or danger.
5. Tattoos represent permanence. In this day and age, many young people have tattoos, so they will probably show you theirs. This is good, but not the point of the exercise. Let them show it to you. But ask them if they get another one. The symbol or picture holds great meaning to them. The location they would get it likely represents a point of vulnerability to them, or perhaps their sense of style. It's up to you to decide which it is.
6. The five people question is the hardest to sort out. You will be tempted to analyze the significance of each one. Don't do this, as it is not the point. Instead, the five people represent what the person finds attractive or interesting within a group. For instance, if she picks a diverse group of men and women, she prefers a variety of friends and interests. If she picks all important people, such as actors and celebrities, she is more concerned with high social value. If she picks all people that will get along, she likes everyone to be comfortable and happy. If, like me, she picks people deliberately to spark controversy and debate...well, you get the picture.

I hope you guys enjoy these. Feel free to contribute questions of your own. I will either agree with you or tell you how stupid you are.
Cheers,
Rain
PS~Mods, please allow this post to stay on the main board for a few days before moving it to the A3 sub-forum. I think it belongs there, but needs the exposure of the main board.

[Rain]

These 6 Questions can also be used in Comfort. Really, the difference in whether they are A3 Questions or Comfort-building questions depends on how you choose to interpret her answers. Include elements of sexual tension and Qualifying statements in your interpretation and you have A3. Make your interpretations deeper and more meaningful to her and you have Comfort.
Rain

[Hatman]

I think that there is some good material in this. But on the other hand, it may come across as being too intellectually demanding for the target to answer - the setting you're going to be in is likely a club/bar where the target is a bit juiced up.
So in that case, I think questions 2 and 3 are by far the best. Not only cos they're easier to answer but also give the best insights.
regards

[Rain]

Originally Posted by DonAntonio

Good stuff, but I don't think that asking about her death is a good C1 question

I can see why you would be cautious about this. But asking a person how they would choose to die, and how they would like to be remembered at their funeral isn't as somber as one might think. It seems to me that nearly every motivator to live life to the fullest relies on the fact that life is finite. Even Mystery draws attention to the fact that we have a limited number of days with which to enjoy life, and by the time we arrive here, many of them are already gone. The question is just an interesting way to bring that topic up. Avoid it if you like.

Originally Posted by Hatman

...it may come across as being too intellectually demanding for the target to answer - the setting you're going to be in is likely a club/bar where the target is a bit juiced up...

I agree Hatman. If asked in a club, some of these are too involved. However, I think most PUAs engage in Comfort building at a separate location, or on a day2. In those cases, there is plenty of room for more complicated language and discussion. And personally, if the HB in question can't keep up, I'd rather not move to Seduction anyway. My personal favorite for A3/C1 transitioning is the animal one. After she tells you what animal she would marry, you can just start talking to her as if she meant you. "Ok, so you're a Panda and I'm a squirrel. I wonder, would our kids do well in sports?"

Originally Posted by Malibu

Excellent Rain...I think it belongs in comfort though. It definately is a rapport builder more than qualifying questions.

You're absolutely right. My game tends to be less linear, because I tried to skip the newbie mission initially. As a result, My A3/C1-C2 game is a bit mixed up. I changed the title of the post to reflect the appropriateness of these questions in the Comfort phases of the M3 model.
Incidentally, I am now humbling myself and going back to do the newbie mission, as prescribed by Cedar, in its entirety. There really is no other way to get rid of my worst sticking points in a reasonable amount of time.

[ymox]

I think Rain's post should go to best of..
There are solid links between business strategy and game. I have studed motivational factors for HR in Business Strategy (both the content and process theorists) in the past and first thing I noticed in VAH was Maslows Hierachy of Needs.
check Vroom's VIES expectancy theory
F = V * I * E
where
F = force, ie. the amount of effort put in
V = valence, ie. strength of preference for a particular outcome
(positive preference)
I = Instrumentality, must believe we have the resources (instruments)
to achieve the outcome
E = belief (expectancy) that the outome is achievable
negative results mean failure before you start, the higher the positive the more likely the results will be in your favour

[palino]

I'm working in consulting company, and one icebreaking activity is very similiar to second question. Facilitator give first instruction to a group: "Draw an animimal, which is the closest to you. We won't evaluate your skill in drawing." Then second instruction: "Write at least 7 characteristic, positive or negative." Finally everyone present drawing and charakteristics.
Often someone notice, that mentionned charakteristics are his own charakteristics. And that is the point - animal and especially charakteristics represent personne's perception of himself. Sometimes it's very pertinent.