Vanessa Van Edwards suggests asking "What do you love talking about?" when someone keeps giving one-word answers. If they still can't engage, it's time to politely leave the conversation.
I hope this never happens to you. You've been asking all kinds of amazing questions, you started with a positive opener and a positive greeting and lots of warmth, and you still can't get them to open up. With this person, here is my backup question. If I've tried every question I can think of, every context cue, and every opener, and I still can't get more than one or two word answers, I literally ask, what do you love talking about? This way you give them the opportunity to just tell you, give you the shortcut. What do they love talking about? And by the way, if they still don't have an answer to this question, it's time to exit the conversation.
