How do you become more curious?

Children ask why the sky is blue, why the dog has a wet nose and why grown-ups drink coffee, all before breakfast. Somewhere along the way most of us stop. Not because the world got less interesting, but because we got busier, more certain and slightly embarrassed to admit we don't know things.

The good news: curiosity seems to come back when you practise it.

Make questions a habit

The simplest move is to ask more questions, especially follow-up ones. When someone mentions their job, ask what a normal Tuesday looks like. When the waiter recommends a wine, ask why. When a friend says they've taken up bouldering, ask what they love about it.

A few reliable openers:

• "How did you get into that?"
• "What's the hardest part?"
• "What do people usually get wrong about it?"
• "What would you do if you were me?"

Most people enjoy being asked, and you learn something every time. It also makes conversations easier; there's more in getting better at small talk.

Follow tangents

Efficiency is the enemy of curiosity. Give yourself permission, now and then, to follow a thread with no purpose. Look up the word you didn't recognise. Walk down the street you've never taken. Read the plaque on the wall. Ask the stallholder where the cheese comes from.

Not every tangent leads anywhere. That's fine. The habit of following them is the point, and occasionally one leads to a new hobby, a new favourite restaurant or a new friend.

Swap judgement for interest

Quick judgement closes things down: "That's a weird way to make pasta." "I'd never go on that kind of holiday." "That music isn't for me." Interest keeps them open: "Why do they make it like that?" "What do people love about it?"

You don't have to change your mind. But asking "why might someone like this?" before deciding you don't is one of the best curiosity exercises there is. It works on food, art, sport, other people's opinions and other people's cooking.

Notice more

Curiosity starts with attention. Some small ways to sharpen it:

• Walk without headphones now and then and listen to the street.
• Keep a notes list of things you want to look up, then actually look them up on a Sunday.
• Try one unfamiliar thing a week: a vegetable you've never cooked, a magazine you'd never buy, a neighbourhood you've never visited.
• Ask "what changed?" on familiar routes: new shop, new mural, new tree in blossom.

Be comfortable not knowing

Curious people say "I don't know" a lot. Adults often find this hard, especially at work or around people they want to impress. But "I don't know, tell me more" is one of the most attractive phrases in conversation, and it opens doors that pretending never does. Being a happy beginner helps; see being a beginner as an adult.

Feed it

Curiosity likes variety. A different bookshop section, a podcast on a subject you know nothing about, a lecture at the local library, a cooking class in a cuisine you've never tried. Mix serious and silly. The aim isn't to become an expert; it's to keep finding the world interesting.