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Dana Clark is a proud softie: sensitivity is her superpower, and her mission in life is to bring folks closer together. Her secret weapon? Questions. Lots of questions. Clark is the creator of the Cool to Connect line of question cards, which aim to help people begin interesting conversations and learn a little about their fellow humans — and themselves.

She’s been in the connection game since 2016, when she ran Heroic Humans, a global social-impact movement. She hosted panel discussions featuring inspiring people sharing their stories and a weekly podcast that celebrated acts of courage, big and small, both in Toronto and globally. It was after hearing their tales that she realized one of the commonalities we share as people is “we’re all seeking connection.”

The idea of connection could feel a little…corny. So Clark wondered, how she could make it cool to connect? She remembered her interviews with Heroic Humans and how thought-provoking questions could help folks gain a deeper understanding of themselves and others. “Quickly, I realized that there could be a way to spark connections between people,” she says. “By providing a game that was both fun and unthreatening, I found a cool way to encourage people to engage and bond in conversations that would leave all participants with a greater understanding and appreciation for one another.”

In 2019, she launched her first Cool to Connect deck, which offered 52 different question cards to inspire meaningful conversations and, hopefully, a revelation or two. (Prompts include “Are you typically the first to apologize or do you wait for someone else to?” and “Share something vulnerable about yourself.”)

The After Dark deck, featuring more lighthearted and occasionally risqué questions, followed in summer 2021, and later that fall Clark partnered with blogger and mother of four Cecilia Kissel to create a Kids deck for little ones.

For her latest deck, Clark teamed up with another expert: sex consultant and confidence coach Erika Eileen. Their Intimate deck hopes to alleviate the shame associated with conversations surrounding sex. It includes cues like “What makes you feel most relaxed and the most present in the moment?” and “What part of intimacy makes you the most uncomfortable?”

“We want to help people feel a greater sense of safety, pleasure, and connection in their sexual experiences,” Clark says.

She’s also branched out into other wellness products, like crewnecks emblazoned with the phrase “feel how you feel,” as well as a guided journal and scented candle.

Clark plans to continue creating more question decks. “One of the most difficult things in life is coming to truly understand another person,” she says, “and the most effective tool we have is deep communication and conversation.”

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