In modern society, conversation doesn’t always flow so easily. Whether you’re sitting opposite a mate who won’t put his phone down, or small talk hits a wall when you’re hosting a dinner party, even the most engaging of blokes would have to admit that the art of conversation is often difficult to master. Sometimes we need triggers – cues that direct us where to take the conversation and encourage us to dig a bit deeper when it comes to engaging with people. That’s the idea behind Franklin Racquet Club, designed to encourage a back and forth of open discussion with an 88-card conversation starter kit
It looks like a card game. And I guess you could call it one. But there are no winners here, moving in the same vein as topic card kits like Cards Against Humanity with each card featuring one conversation starter. Franklin Racquet Club, a social enterprise self-described as “dedicated to the sport of life”, has pulled out various starting points here, framed as questions. We’ve included some below so you get the idea of what kind of topics you can expect.
Founders Sarah Myer and Celeste Whitelaw created the conversation starter kit and named it Franklin Racquet Club as an homage to Franklin D. Roosevelt, given he was the man who brought real talk to the radio and got everyone thinking about how powerful words can be when they’re used wisely and creatively.
You’ve then got the problem that not everyone is able to use words wisely and creatively, which is why a conversation starter kit like this can be so valuable. Practice makes perfect, always, and all too often we’re getting bogged down in an obsession around witty small talk that we aren’t really sharpening ourselves when it comes to deeper, more engaging, and frankly more memorable bouts of big talk. The man who values perfect the art of conversation would be wise to have this 88-card deck sitting on the shelf the next time it comes their time to host a dinner party or get-together.
There are a few other conversation starter kits out there, but none we’ve found are as elegantly designed as this one. You can grab a deck of Franklin Racquet Club cards for $48 online, with shipping on a global scale. 100% of all profits are donated to the Australian Childhood Foundation, which is a Melbourne based child services organisation that exists to protect children and restore childhood for children who have experienced severe trauma, neglect and abuse.
Some Franklin Racquet Club questions include:
- What daily habit would you like to introduce?
- What can you give more of?
- What trait do you admire from another culture? Why?
- What is the most important lesson for children to learn?
- Describe a “future memory” you hope to create one day.
