I cut people off a lot when I talk. It’s a terrible habit.
Which trait do you most dislike in yourself?
Question
What has been your biggest disappointment?
Failure & regret
Question
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Values & belief
Question
What is the worst thing anyone has said to you?
Failure & regret
Question
How would you describe yourself in three words?
Identity & self
Question
Which living person do you most admire, and why?
Values & belief
Question
What is the worst job you have done?
Craft & work
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
The Guardian's The Q&A has retained this Proust-derived prompt from at least 2007 through 2026, and ABC independently put it to the Obamas in 2011.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
I’m slightly impatient.
The Q&A, The Guardian, 20 September 2025 source ↗
Others on this question
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Meghan Trainor
American singer-songwriter
My self-criticism.
Very impatient, bossy, always late.
John Malkovich
American actor
How long do we have?
More from Stephen K Amos
View profile →Looking back is not productive.
Ignorance and rudeness. Decency and a please and thank you cost nothing.
“Do you know what your problem is?” It was a dear friend of mine. They were referring to the fact that I’m impatient.
Funny, loyal, genuine.
John McCarthy, the journalist who was held captive for five years in Beirut. I’ve met him and he was so full of peace, humility and forgiveness – it was inspiring.
I was a guard on the Orient Express – however, only when it was stationed at a railway siding in Vauxhall.
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Julie Andrews, Pauline McLynn, Joyce Carol Oates, Father John Misty, Adam Kay, Paul McKenna
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