163. Is Your Audience Ignoring You? How Authenticity Creates Connection
How acceptance and authenticity can transform all of our interactions.
What\u2019s the key to experiencing deeper connection in our communication? According to Alan Alda, it starts with acceptance \u2014 of others and ourselves.
"Connecting, communicating, and clarity," Alda explains, "they're all based on hearing what the other person is really saying; letting the person be real; accepting them.\u201d As an acclaimed actor, writer, director, and author of If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face?, Alda has spent much of his career exploring how acceptance enables us to be our authentic selves, leading to better communication and truer connection. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing more engaging than the real you,\u201d he says.
Also the founder of the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University, Alda strives to help scientists and health professionals communicate more effectively with the public. \u201cScience can't do its work unless it gets funded. And it can't get funded if people don't understand what the scientists are trying to do,\u201d he says.
In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, Alda and host Matt Abrahams discuss how acceptance and authenticity can transform all of our interactions, from complicated science conversations to everyday communication.
Episode Reference Links:
- Alan Alda
- Alan\u2019s Book: If I Understood You, Would I have This Look on My Face?\xa0
- Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science\xa0
- Ep.82 It\u2019s Not About You: Why Effective Communicators Put Others First\xa0
- Ep.114 Communication Means Paying Attention: The Four Pillars of Active Listening\xa0
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- Think Fast Talk Smart >>> LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube
- Matt Abrahams >>> LinkedIn
Chapters:
- (00:00) - Introduction\n \n
- (01:43) - Motivation for Communication\n \n
- (03:43) - Avoiding Communication Pitfalls\n \n
- (05:59) - The Role of Clarity and Vividness\n \n
- (07:06) - Reflection in Communication\n \n
- (07:56) - Connection in Conversations\n \n
- (09:11) - Reframing Communication Anxiety\n \n
- (10:51) - Asking Meaningful Questions\n \n
- (11:46) - Matt\u2019s Communication Journey\n \n
- (13:33) - The Art of Storytelling\n \n
- (16:00) - The Final Three Questions\n \n
- (18:07) - Conclusion \n