How to have better conversations (with Celeste Headlee)
How to Be a Better Human
TED
4.1 • 1.4K Ratings
🗓️ 29 March 2021
⏱️ 30 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Humans need to have conversations every day-- at our jobs, in our homes, in government-- so how can we handle these better? Celeste Headlee is an award winning journalist who has done everything from anchoring morning news on public radio to covering presidential campaigns. In this episode, Celeste shares practical tips for anyone looking to improve their conversational skills, arguing that better conversations are well within our reach. Celeste is the author of “We Need to Talk: How to Have Conversations That Matter” and “Do Nothing: How to Break Away from Overworking, Overdoing, and Underliving.” Celeste is a regular guest host on NPR and American Public Media and a highly sought consultant.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Ted Audio Collective. I'm your host Chris Duffy. So when I think about the ways that I'm personally trying to be a better human, |
| 0:15.5 | a lot of big picture stuff comes to mind. |
| 0:18.0 | But then I also think about trying to be better at the specific roles that I play every day. |
| 0:22.8 | And obviously one of those roles, quite obviously, |
| 0:25.2 | is being a host. |
| 0:27.0 | I would like to be better at hosting and interviewing |
| 0:29.5 | and having great conversations. |
| 0:31.4 | And I think that probably a lot of you out there would also like to improve your skill at having |
| 0:37.2 | a great conversation. |
| 0:38.8 | It's an important skill and one that we don't often think about very consciously. |
| 0:44.0 | So today on the podcast, let's talk, |
| 0:46.3 | and more importantly, let's listen to a really seasoned professional. |
| 0:50.6 | Today we have Celeste Hedley here with us. She is an award-winning journalist who has done everything from |
| 0:56.7 | anchor morning news programs on public radio to covering presidential campaigns to co-hosting |
| 1:02.0 | Retro Report on PBS PBS. She's also the |
| 1:04.7 | author of We Need to Talk, How to Have Conversations That Matter. And here is what she |
| 1:09.1 | has to say about how to do that. Now I make my living talking to people. |
| 1:13.2 | Nobel Prize winners, truck drivers, billionaires, |
| 1:16.7 | kindergarten teachers, heads of state, plumbers. |
| 1:20.7 | I talk to people that I like. |
| 1:21.8 | I talk to people that I don't like, I talk to some people that I disagree with deeply on a personal level, but I still have a great conversation with them. |
| 1:30.0 | So I'd like to spend the next 10 minutes or so teaching you how to talk and how to listen. |
... |
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