TED excitement is indeed building. I learned that Susan Cain will be a speaker at TED and she has written an intriguing book about the power of introverts.
Indeed, she is right that we live in a talkative world. Blab, blab, blab surrounds us. Radio talk shows. TV talk shows. Online talk and more talk. YouTube talk. And all that peripheral chatter we hear on the bus, the subway, and even in taxis equipped with tv screens and people on them...talking.
I'm hoping Susan differentiates between people talking and people in conversation. I say the world can do with lots less of the former. And here's where Susan and I may differ: I believe we need lots more of the latter.
Conversation can lead to collaborative discovery, to understanding, to innovation, to peace. Conversation requires active listening. It's not the same as debate, in which both parties try to convince the other of the rightness of their view.
Instead, great conversations result in something new being created by the combination of the parties' views. Not a compromise, this is something new, something shaped by the intersection of their interaction.
I am assuming that introverts can be as good at conversations as extroverts. Maybe better, in fact, since they may be more prone to listening.
Stay tuned and I'll let you know what Susan's TED talk reveals.
Author of I is for Intercourse: The ABC's of Conversation, Susan Bird is the visionary behind Wf360, and a sought-after speaker around the world for her views on leadership, the strategic importance of conversation, entrepreneurship, and the role of women business leaders.
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