You mainly just have to wait for the pen to write the person's name, and the book will automatically fill up one page at a time. However, once you close the book, it no longer reads that person's thoughts. Of course, if you already know someone's full name, you can write it down, but even within our group, you only know their first names. If you want the pen to work, you have to ask loud enough for the person to notice. So you're basically screwed if you tried it against a deaf guy, unless he can read a question you ask.