TED O’clock – 10 ways to have a better conversation – September 1, 2017

In this edition of TED O’clock, those in attendance watched Celeste Headlee’s discussion of “10 Ways to Have a Better Conversation.”  Here is the summary of those 10 ways:

1. Don’t multi-task; be present.
2. Don’t pontificate; assume you have something to learn.
3. Use open-ended questions; start questions with who, what, when, where, why, and how.
4. Go with the flow.
5. If you don’t know, then say you don’t know.
6. Don’t equate your experience with theirs; all experiences are individual.
7. Try not to repeat yourself; it can sound condescending when you do.
8. Stay out of the weeds; no one cares about the details; people care more about people than the details.
9. Listen; listen to understand, not to reply.
10. Be brief.

Ultimately, Ms. Headlee says we should all go out, talk to people, and prepare to be amazed.  If you do this, you will rarely be disappointed.

Thanks to everyone who came to today’s talk!

ITS: Always fun, never boring
Respectfully submitted,
Linda Petro