We Need To Talk: A Conversation with Celeste Headlee
Listen to the conversation with Celeste
For most of us, checking our emails, texts, and social media accounts is as much a part of our daily routine as bathing and brushing our teeth. Today, most of us communicate from behind electronic screens with less and less face-to-face or voice communication. And while we may believe we are connecting with others, studies show that Americans feel less connected and more divided than ever before.
When technology is our primary means of communication, conversational skills, connection, and intimacy become a thing of the past and we risk losing much of what makes our society work. We lose the authentic human connection that we need in order to experience empathy, compassion, and creativity.
According to Celeste Headlee, author of We Need To Talk: How To Have Conversations That Matter, the only way forward is for us to start talking to each other.
We are inherently very social beings. When we put down the technology and have actual conversations we can strengthen social ties, boost our mood, and improve our health.
Headlee contends that small changes can provide big results. She recommends that we make it a point to have daily interactions. Having brief conversations can have a big impact on our mood and sense of belonging. She notes that conversations do not have to be long or deep to make them worthwhile. Discussing something simple such as sports or the weather can provide emotional, cognitive, and physiological benefits.
She also advises that we check in on friends, colleagues, and loved ones with whom we have lost touch. Call them up, she says. Don’t send an email or a text. And, if they are not home, leave a voice message. Hearing the voice of another provides benefits, so let them hear you.
Whether a smile in passing, an open ear, or a friendly conversation, shared moments bring vibrancy to life.