Stop asking people so 'what do you do'

Here's a powerful game I love to play when I want to instantly deepen my relationship with someone.

It's called HIGH LOW BUFFALO, a game commonly played in the world of theatre, and it allows you to discover 3 topics of conversation. High is something going great, low is something challenging you're going through, and buffalo is something interesting about you.

The moment you do this to break the ice, it instantly humanises the other person and now you have 3 topics you can talk about!

Don't feel weird trying this - it's only weird if you make it weird. I've been able to use this simple game many times throughout my life if I want to skip the boring small talk and go straight to the good stuff.

[askvinh]

There will be a full length YouTube video explaining this concept with an example on stage, releasing next week, stay tuned!

[bearbear]

I was waiting for him to give an example, i got edged

[TheBoxster]

Don’t worry. I am expert at this. Here’s some examples:

What it means
High: The best part of your day (something that made you happy).
Low: The worst part of your day (something that made you sad, angry, or frustrated).
Buffalo: Something random, funny, interesting, or unexpected (a wildcard).

Example – Office team check-in

High: I finally finished that report and got good feedback from the director.
Low: I had three back-to-back meetings and barely had time for lunch.
Buffalo: Someone accidentally scheduled a meeting titled “Aliens and TPS Reports”—turns out it was a typo!”

[Jnx_exe]

Can't wait for the full length video! Your videos genuinely helped me presenting better at events and college!

[asadghafoor]

High/Low/Buffalo (HLB)method Example by ChatGpt:

The High/Low/Buffalo (HLB) method is a framework used to categorize different approaches to questioning based on their purpose and depth in a conversation. It stands for:

High: Open-ended questions that lead to deep, meaningful conversation and exploration.

Low: Quick, direct, and to-the-point questions that are practical or informational.

Buffalo: Questions that are in between—casual but still have some depth, aiming for a balance between engagement and exploration.

EXAMPLE:

High: "What is the most fulfilling part of your work, and how did you get into it?"
(This invites deeper exploration of someone's career and passions.)

Low: "What’s your job title?"
(This is a quick, straightforward question that gives you immediate, practical information.)

Buffalo: "So, what kind of work do you focus on?"
(This is still casual, but asks for a bit more detail and might lead to a more engaging conversation.)

[avivaainbinder]

I love this question: what do you like about your work? Or how did you get into it?

[michaelbenoit]

I wish I had you as a teacher in high school class where there isn't a whole lot of room to be social when we're told most of the time to listen to the teacher.

[JensooChaelisaaa]

Thank u so much Vinh you helped me a lot in improving my communication skills ❤❤❤

[KajMahal]

Hey Vinh, what advice would you give someone that has vocal cord paralysis, I can talk.. but I’ve got to whisper and this has been going on for 3 gears now and I really don’t know what else to do.. please any advice or a reply would be majorly helpful, you’re a really intelligent person and I know you’d know what to do

[AK-pwoq]

Yeah I want to know what questions should I ask people so we can have nice conversation flow and people feel comfortable

[autman]

Hi Vinh, do you have an example of using the High/Low/Buffalo (HLB)method? “So what do you do” is quick/casual and gets a conversation started quickly. Curious how you would reframe the question to fit the HLB framework.

[sweetlioness]

What about people we already know? But are like not confidential yet? (yes coworkers) 😅😅

[oliversmith]

What if you hate talking about yourself because you have no ego, and you are happy to talk about what you do for a job because it's not really about you. What then?

[BodyssStitchy]

Can someone help me understand this better? I am afraid I didn't quite get what he said and tried to explain. 🤔

[hogotusaal]

Let me guess: what are you working on at the moment?

[aliya_sharma.]

Guys check description maybe you will get little clear... Btw i also didn't get it properly..

[cillboon]

I found the explanation hard to understand without a concrete explanation. I felt the explanation at the start was too fast for me to follow.

[mthabitX]

The comments have it COMPLETELY wrong. High, Low, Buffalo - say it fast. It is "Hello Buffalo". When ever you meet someone, just say Hello Buffalo. You will be at least as popular as the video creator.

[direwolf-]

Make an „anti-social anxiety“ topic please