full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Celeste Headlee: 10 ways to have a better conversation

Unscramble the Blue Letters


(Laughter)

You have to litesn to one another. setpehn Covey said it very butiflaeuly. He said, "Most of us don't listen with the intent to understand. We listen with the intent to reply."

One more rule, nembur 10, and it's this one: Be brief.

[A good conversation is like a miniskirt; short enough to retain interest, but long enough to cover the subject. — My Sister]

(Laughter)

(Applause) All of this boils down to the same baisc concept, and it is this one: Be interested in other people.

You know, I grew up with a very famous grandfather, and there was kind of a ritual in my home. People would come over to talk to my gdeanarrnpts, and after they would leave, my mtoher would come over to us, and she'd say, "Do you know who that was? She was the runner-up to Miss America. He was the mayor of snetmrcaao. She won a Pulitzer Prize. He's a riassun ballet dancer." And I kind of grew up assuming everyone has some hidden, amazing thing about them. And honestly, I think it's what makes me a better host. I keep my mouth shut as often as I possibly can, I keep my mind open, and I'm always prepared to be amazed, and I'm never disappointed.

Open Cloze


(Laughter)

You have to ______ to one another. _______ Covey said it very ___________. He said, "Most of us don't listen with the intent to understand. We listen with the intent to reply."

One more rule, ______ 10, and it's this one: Be brief.

[A good conversation is like a miniskirt; short enough to retain interest, but long enough to cover the subject. — My Sister]

(Laughter)

(Applause) All of this boils down to the same _____ concept, and it is this one: Be interested in other people.

You know, I grew up with a very famous grandfather, and there was kind of a ritual in my home. People would come over to talk to my ____________, and after they would leave, my ______ would come over to us, and she'd say, "Do you know who that was? She was the runner-up to Miss America. He was the mayor of __________. She won a Pulitzer Prize. He's a _______ ballet dancer." And I kind of grew up assuming everyone has some hidden, amazing thing about them. And honestly, I think it's what makes me a better host. I keep my mouth shut as often as I possibly can, I keep my mind open, and I'm always prepared to be amazed, and I'm never disappointed.

Solution


  1. mother
  2. russian
  3. basic
  4. grandparents
  5. listen
  6. number
  7. sacramento
  8. stephen
  9. beautifully

Original Text


(Laughter)

You have to listen to one another. Stephen Covey said it very beautifully. He said, "Most of us don't listen with the intent to understand. We listen with the intent to reply."

One more rule, number 10, and it's this one: Be brief.

[A good conversation is like a miniskirt; short enough to retain interest, but long enough to cover the subject. — My Sister]

(Laughter)

(Applause) All of this boils down to the same basic concept, and it is this one: Be interested in other people.

You know, I grew up with a very famous grandfather, and there was kind of a ritual in my home. People would come over to talk to my grandparents, and after they would leave, my mother would come over to us, and she'd say, "Do you know who that was? She was the runner-up to Miss America. He was the mayor of Sacramento. She won a Pulitzer Prize. He's a Russian ballet dancer." And I kind of grew up assuming everyone has some hidden, amazing thing about them. And honestly, I think it's what makes me a better host. I keep my mouth shut as often as I possibly can, I keep my mind open, and I'm always prepared to be amazed, and I'm never disappointed.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
paying attention 2


Important Words


  1. amazed
  2. amazing
  3. america
  4. applause
  5. assuming
  6. ballet
  7. basic
  8. beautifully
  9. boils
  10. concept
  11. conversation
  12. cover
  13. covey
  14. dancer
  15. disappointed
  16. famous
  17. good
  18. grandfather
  19. grandparents
  20. grew
  21. hidden
  22. home
  23. honestly
  24. host
  25. intent
  26. interest
  27. interested
  28. kind
  29. laughter
  30. leave
  31. listen
  32. long
  33. mayor
  34. mind
  35. mother
  36. mouth
  37. number
  38. open
  39. people
  40. possibly
  41. prepared
  42. prize
  43. pulitzer
  44. reply
  45. retain
  46. ritual
  47. rule
  48. russian
  49. sacramento
  50. short
  51. shut
  52. sister
  53. stephen
  54. subject
  55. talk
  56. understand
  57. won