These questions are mix of questions to  structure negotiation and collaboration; to get to know someone better; and to understand a subject more deeply. 

• What is this?
  • A surprisingly deep question! What is this world? What is music? What is education? What is language? What is consciousness? What is this book about? are all questions  you can return to again and again. 
• What do you need to make it work?
• What will ___ look like in ten years?
• What if you hoped bigger? Dreamed without regard for possibility?
• How do you like to communicate?
• When are you at your best? When at your worst?
• What makes you come alive?
• How can we support you?
• If you could a phone call from anyone right now, who would it be, and what would they say?
• What about…?
• Why not…?
• What if?
• What can you do that only you can do?
• “What is the biggest and most important problem you can solve with your gifts and skills?” (quoted by Derek Jensen in “Walking on Water”)
• What can you do to mitigate your concerns about and increase the potential benefits of a course of action? (That is, how can you adapt?)
• What is special to you?
• What would you describe as your character strengths? Ongoing hang-ups?
• How is A like B?
• What is the relationship between X, Y, and Z?
• How might we…?
• How could we…?
• What new things can we do with this?
• What could be?
• Why not?
• What’s the silver lining?