I am a big fan of Krista Tippett. For those of you who have never heard her, she is a superb interviewer who has an NPR radio show called onBeing. Each week she interviews someone who is exceptional in their knowledge of whatever it is they do and who also has a wonderful moral imagination.
This past week she interviewed Dan Barber, the world famous chef and co-owner of Blue Hill in New York City and Blue Hill at Stony Barns in Tarrytown New York. In the past she has talked to people as diverse as the Dalai Lama, the Chief Rabbi of Great Britain Lord Jonathan Sacks, Iranian-American political scientist Darius Rejali, and Jacqueline Novogratz who founded Acumen Fund. She truly has a roving mind and a deep interest in the moral compass that guides people.
Then recently, for the first time, I saw an article Tippett wrote. It was in the Wall Street Journal and is called Rules for Discussing the Meaning Of It All. Of course I read it immediately.
In the article she writes about her way of interviewing and getting at the heart of the issue and the basic thoughts of the interviewee. As I read I kept thinking that if all executives followed her lead we’d have a lot less misunderstanding and many executives would be a lot more effective.
She says many important things but several I will quote here. They are so clear that for a change I won’t even add any commentary. Think about them…and how they can improve your conversation.
“A listener might disagree with your opinion on ultimate questions but can’t disagree with your experience of them. There is a profound difference between hearing someone say ‘this is the truth’ and hearing her say ‘this is my truth.’ ”
“The best question to bring a lofty conversation back to earth is: ‘what do you mean when you say that?’ ”
And she ends with these words of wisdom key to success for any organization: “the trick is for us all to create conversational spaces in which new answers can unfold.”
Go forth and practice.