#TED #CelesteHeadlee #conversation #listening #people #communication

Here are the top points to be noted in from Celeste Headlee TED talk (well, if you think you want to have a better conversation):

1. Don’t multi-task: Try to focus on the ongoing conversation instead of keeping your mind busy in multiple things.
2. Don’t speak much: Try to enter every conversation assuming you are going to learn something, Put aside your personal opinion on the topic until asked.
3. Use Open-ended questions: If you are going to ask something of the listener, then always try to pose questions with How, When, What, Who, Where, etc. Let them describe how they feel instead of showing them the words to express themselves.
4. Go with the flow: You need to let the thoughts flow out of your mind.
5. If you don’t know, say that you don’t know: Don’t act like the all smart, all knowledgeable kind of person, be true to yourself.
6. Don’t equate your experiences with theirs: Everyone has a different story to tell, don’t start telling your own story and experiences when you are listening about someone else’s.
7. Try not to repeat yourself: Don’t say the same things again and again. It lowers the worth of that point you are trying to make, and also lowers your own respect.
8. Stay out of the weeds: What people care about is you, your personality and tastes, what you are like.
9. Listen: This is the most important of all the points. Just listen.
   • Buddha – “If your mouth is open, then you are not learning.”
   • Calvin Coolidge – “No man ever listened his way out of a job.”
10. Be brief: A good conversation is like a miniskirt; short enough to retain interest but long enough to cover the subject.

These are some amazing points! Thank you for reading.