Conversation & connection

Trouble me,
disturb me
with all your
cares
and your worries.

10,000 Maniacs

~

Come together.

Beatles

~

The great gift of conversation lies less in displaying it ourselves than in drawing it out of others.

—Jean de la Bruyere

~

The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn't said.

—Peter Drucker

~

The greatest compliment that was ever paid me was when one asked me what I thought, and attended to my answer.

—Henry David Thoreau

~

Small talk is the art of saying nothing in a way that leaves nothing unsaid.

—Ned Sherrin

~

The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances—if there is any reaction, both are transformed.

—Carl Jung

~

Communication is merely an exchange of information, but connection is an exchange of our humanity.

—Sean Stephenson

~

Bid for connection: Each of our daily interactions with another person.

—John Gottman

~

Only connect!

—E.M. Forster

~

Each contact with a human being is so rare, so precious, one should preserve it.

―Anaïs Nin

~

People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

—Maya Angelou

Watts Connectedness Scale

Compassionate exchange practice

How would you like me to be with you?

Do you need to be hugged, helped, or just heard?

Questions for deepening connection

If I really knew you, what would I know?

If you really knew me, you would know…

If you really knew me practice (options)

How to be a radiator, not a drain

Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection

How happy couples argue

On emotional attunement

What’s something I wouldn’t believe about you?

The {    } And, Strangers edition

StoryCorps

How to talk to people

The geography of small talk

An ode to small talk

How to make small talk

The best small-talk topic

Do people need small talk to be happy?

I Hear You

Brave spaces

Circling Institute

Poem: Sleeping Next to the Man on the Plane

“Love” sculpture

Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend