TED Talk - Celeste Headlee - 10 Ways to Have a Better Conversation
Opening Your Time Together
In your small group, please discuss the following:
Watching the TED Talks
Discussing the TED Talk
In your small group, please discuss the following:
- Share your names, where you live, and your children’s ages
- Both of our TED Talks today cover the art of conversation, one on avoiding small talk, the other on specific conversational skills. Why do you think small talk is so prevalent in our daily lives? Where do you encounter small talk the most?
- When was the last time you had a great conversation with someone? What contributed to the quality of the conversation (setting, how long you’ve know this person, not feeling rushed, etc.)?
Watching the TED Talks
- To watch Omid Schaybani's talk, "Breaking the Habit of Small Talk", click here.
- To watch Celeste Headlee's talk, "10 Ways to Have a Better Conversation", click here.
Discussing the TED Talk
- Why do you think good conversations are so hard to come by today?
- Our first talk makes the case that we should try to break away from “predictable superficiality” and instead be genuinely curious about others – do you have questions that you like to ask of others to get them to open up? Were there any questions from the video you found compelling?
- Our second talk covers topics that seem basic… except we know that a lot of us aren’t always great about following them! Headlee lists suggestions like no multitasking (aka looking at your phone), don’t pontificate, assume you have something to learn, and use open-ended questions, among others. How can we help break those bad habits?