What to Talk About | Rob Baedeker & Chris Colin | Talks at Google

TL;DR

The authors discuss their book "What to Talk About," which aims to help people improve their conversation skills by providing practical tools and strategies.

Transcript

MALE SPEAKER: Hi, everybody. Thanks again for coming to another Authors at Google event at the San Francisco office. We're very psyched today to welcome Rob Baedeker and Chris Colin, both of whom are local Bay-Areans, if that's a word. Chris is an author and a journalist whose work has appeared in the "New York Times," "Wired," and "McSweeney's," a... Read More

Key Insights

• 🧑‍🏫 Conversation is a crucial aspect of human interaction that is often overlooked and not explicitly taught.
• 🤩 Curiosity and genuine interest in others are key to successful conversations.
• ☺️ Being comfortable with not knowing everything and admitting ignorance can help to lower the bar and make conversations more relaxed.
• 💐 Paying attention to the present moment and finding conversation prompts in the environment can help keep conversations flowing.
• 🤯 Similarly, doing some research and having a few topics or questions in mind can help to jumpstart conversations and keep them interesting.
• 🍄 Having a life motto, even if it's created collaboratively one word at a time, can provide a unique and fun conversation starter.

Questions & Answers

Q: How can I start a conversation on a more interesting note?

One strategy is to use cold openings, such as asking a hypothetical question or sharing a unique personal experience. This encourages the other person to tell stories and go beyond small talk.

Q: What do I do if a conversation is getting awkward or boring?

One approach is to steer the conversation towards narratives or stories. Ask the other person about their morning routine or how they got to the current situation. People tend to enjoy talking about the sequence of events in their lives.

Q: How do I end a conversation politely?

A simple and confident approach is to say, "It was so nice talking to you." This provides a clean break and allows both parties to walk away without any awkwardness.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The authors believe that most people could improve their conversational skills by about 10-12%.

• They argue that small talk is important for establishing nonverbal information about ourselves.

• They provide case studies and research findings to support their strategies for starting, maintaining, and ending conversations.