I just heard one of the best TED talks about conversations. Celeste Headlee covers everything I try to include in my 1-3 hours of training on communication skills, and even more, in just 12 minutes!

The ten tips are:

1. Don’t multi-task. Be fully present.
2. Don’t pontificate. Set aside your personal opinions.
3. Use open-ended questions.
4. Go with the flow. Let your own thoughts come and go.
5. If you don’t know, say you don’t know.
6. Don’t equate your experience with theirs. It’s not about you.
7. Don’t repeat yourself.
8. Stay out of the details.
9. Listen! Be interested.
10. Be brief.

I also loved these quotes from the talk:

• “If your mouth is open, you are not learning.” -Buddha
• “No man 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.” -Stephen Covey