10 ways to have a better conversation - Celesete Headlee - TED.

Check out the TED talk here.

1. Don’t multitask – be present - don’t be somewhere else - be fully in it
2. Don’t pontificate - always assume you have something to learn - “Everyone you will ever meet knows something that you don’t” -Bill Nye
3. Ask open ended questions – who, what, when, where, why, or how
4. Go with the flow – let your thoughts go - don’t be bound and determined to say something
5. If you don’t know, say that you don’t know (Talk should not be cheap)
6. Don’t equate your experience with theirs – all experiences are individual – it is NOT about you - Conversations are not promotional opportunities
7. Try not to repeat yourself – it’s condescending and really boring
8. Stay out of the weeds - forget the details - leave them out - people care about you nit the details
9. LISTEN – the most important one – “If your mouth is open you’re not learning” -Buddha – “Nobody ever listened his way out of a job” -Calvin Coolidge - “most of us don’t listen with the intent to understand, we listen with the intent to reply” -Steven Covey

   • Why we don’t:

     We want to be in control

     We get distracted - we can think at 2x the speed we talk

10. Be brief - “A good conversation is like a miniskirt – short enough to retain interest but long enough to cover the subject” -Celesete Headlee’s sister

Be interested in other people and be prepared to be amazed.