Well, sometimes I just turn the question around on the person. So lets say someone asks me what I am doing for the weekend but I really don't want to get into details or get personal with this person. I would say something like, not much, what about you? If the person wants to talk then this is when they usually open up. If it was just friendly chit chat they will probably say something like, yeah me neither. Or if someone asks me if I have children, I might answer, so sorry I don't have time to chat right now I'm working on this really important task. And usually they get the hint. HUGS Kit