• More on IMPROV & a Monkey Toast INVITATION
  • Understanding WHY We Talk
  • How to Talk When We DISAGREE
  • and more!

You can skim this short email or click the links to learn more!

Let’s do this….


More on IMPROV
& an Invitation…

Did you have a chance to listen to last week’s ?podcast: Lessons From the IMPROV Stage with improv comedians, Sandy Marshall and Sandy Jobin-Bevans?

 
Sandy Marshall, Sandy Jobin-Bevans, and yours truly

As I said last week, by the end of this podcast interview, my face hurt from smiling so much! ? I bet the same will happen for you! And – I was surprised at how much I learned. Two reasons for this:
  1. Sandy and Sandy are both very intelligent and insightful!
  2. Improv comedians adopt some specific rules that readily translate to “real-life” – more than you might think!

✉️ Now, the INVITATION:

Improv comedian Sandy Jobin-Bevans invited me to join him and his troupe ONSTAGE for “Monkey Toast: The Improvised Talk Show” ?

I said Yes (!!!) and I would ❤️love to see you there! 

As you can imagine, I am excited and nervous.  I am also incredibly honoured to join this list of impressive guests on the Money Toast Improv Talk Show: comedians, Olympians, journalists, musicians,… including Elvira Curt, Elizabeth Manley, Andrew Coyne, David Suzuki, Jack Layton… WOW! ?

Here are the details:

So here’s the question: Am I a “monkey” or am I “toast“?  
Answer: “BOTH!!!” ??

 If you are in the Toronto area,
I would ❤️ to see you there! 

 


?‍♂️ WHY WE TALK

Speaking of SOCIAL CAPITAL (the Monkey Toast event venue), I just published an article on LinkedIn called “WHY WE TALK: Word-of-Mouth & the Four Motivations to Talk.”

The material for this article is based on my academic research as well as ? Talk About Talk podcast #3: “Why We Talk”.

Can you guess what the four motivations are?  Here is your primer for why we talk:

  1. to be HELPFUL – ?as in altruism
  2. to be SOCIAL – ?as in establishing connection and expressing oneself
  3. to establish BALANCE – ⚖️think cognitive dissonance, scarcity, and reciprocity
  4. to serve our own SELF-INTEREST – ?this is where SOCIAL CAPITAL and self-enhancement come in!

As you might imagine, these psychological motivations result in some biases in what we say. By reading this article or listening to the podcast, you will learn (amongst other things!) how to elicit un-biased recommendations from your friends:

  Try it – it works!!!!


?‍♂️ How to Talk When We DISAGREE

Do you remember Talk about Talk podcast #11 “STORYTELLING with Harvard professor Jerry Zaltman”?  (I know many of you do, since this is the #1?most downloaded Talk About Talk podcast episode!)

Well, Jerry just published a very thought-provoking article called “A Nation of Strangers – Part 2: Opening Minds” that I thought you would like to read. 


Professor Gerald (Jerry) Zaltman

According to Jerry:

This essay is intended for anyone concerned
about a growing estrangement in thinking
between themselves and others they respect and care about
on issues of great importance to society.
It is not an essay about converting others to our positions.”

If this resonates with you, I’m sure you will find this article instructive.  Jerry outlines two GUARDRAILS (restrictions based on laws, custom, and personal codes of conduct) and some very prescriptive and effective CONVERSATION PROMPTS.

Please let me know what you think!

 


And now on YouTube…

Can you guess what the top platforms are for podcast listening? Recently I read some compelling research that shows that YouTube is the #1 podcast platform. While several of you have requested that I upload Talk About Talk podcasts to Youtube (THANK YOU! ?), I have to admit that I was surprised to learn this #1 ranking. 

So… I just created a  Talk About Talk Youtube channel.  The first full podcast to be released is Storytelling.  I will release more episodes regularly, so PLEASE SUBSCRIBE to the Talk About Talk YouTube channel.  And if you have any feedback on the format of these YouTube podcasts, please bring it on!  That goes for any feedback or suggestion you might have for me about anything; please don’t hesitate to email me or post on social media!

Two last asks: 

  1. If you’re in the Toronto area on November 2, I would love to see you at the MonkeyToast Improv night!
  2. If you enjoy these FREE weekly blogs and podcasts, I ask you to please ?forward this email or send this link to your friends and colleagues who may also be interested in learning about how to become more a more effective and confident communicator.

THANK YOU? 

Have a great week!