"I keep my mouth shut as often as I possibly can, I keep my mind open, and I'm always prepared to be amazed, and I'm never disappointed."
Good Afternoon Folks,
Today's TED selection is an ideal compliment to our leadership development work with Dr. Payne.
When your job hinges on how well you talk to people, you learn a lot about how to have conversations — and that most of us don't converse very well. Celeste Headlee was the Midwest Correspondent for NPR before becoming the co-host of the PRI show "The Takeaway.” After that, she guest hosted a number of NPR shows including "Tell Me More,” "Talk of the Nation,” "Weekend All Things Considered” and "Weekend Edition". Celeste also anchored election coverage for PBS World in 2012 and was a regular guest on CNN.
She knows the ingredients of a great conversation: Honesty, brevity, clarity and a healthy amount of listening. In this insightful talk, she shares 10 useful rules for having better conversations. "Go out, talk to people, listen to people," she says. "And, most importantly, be prepared to be amazed.
I think the tips she gave in her speech were very helpful. Many people do not listen anymore. Like she says, everyone wants to talk and get out what they would like to say. I think people would have better conversations if they would just listen and understand what everyone else is saying. People need to stop talking, and take in what is being told to them.
Here's what two of the million plus folks who have viewed the talk and to say:
"I thought this talk was very interesting and insightful, especially coming from someone who basically has conversations for a living. I like the comment about the importance of entering a conversation with the idea that you will learn something new, and I think it is fascinating to think that everyone we meet knows something we do not (like one of the quotes said). I was able to relate to the point she made about not always trying to relate by bringing in personal experience, because no two experiences are identical. I often get annoyed when people do that, whether it be something positive about their life when I share good news or something negative when I talk about my problems, but I know I do the same thing, so that is something I should be mindful of in my future conversations. I like to watch TED talks a lot, but this one is not one that I would normally have clicked on while watching on my own, and I am glad I was "forced" to watch it!"
"When you are young, you are taught that you must be active listeners and to always pay attention when someone is speaking to you. However, you are never really taught what that really means. These are the ways to make business relationships and carry yourself with confidence, and I believe the points you made are very valid. Thanks for the advice on how to become a better conversationalist in an era driven by technology! :)"Have a look:
I thoroughly enjoyed this video and all the ideas that were presented within it. I hope that you did too.
Have a GREAT day, be happy and…
Love Life!
Love Life!
Mitchell D. Weiner
Chief Happiness Officer
*TED is a nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader. Along with two annual conferences -- the TED Conference on the West Coast each spring, and the TEDGlobal conference in Edinburgh UK each summer -- TED includes the award-winning TED Talks video site, the Open Translation Project and TED Conversations, the inspiring TED Fellows and TEDx programs, and the annual TED Prize. More at TED.com
