I am constantly working on my listening skills and trying to keep the advice monster at bay. These good intentions of mine regularly need a reset, often daily, in an ongoing effort to “try again.”
Michael Lewis on The Tim Ferriss podcast shared how he and his close friends tend to obey the rules of improv in their interactions. That their conversational style is improvisational.
He explained how when he is sharing an idea, that their first response isn’t “No, that’s stupid”. Instead, they say, “Yes, and…”
He shared how Daniel Kahneman said this to his graduate students:
“When someone in this room says something, don’t ask if it is true, ask what might it be true of? What value might there be in that thing that was said? Don’t try to show me how smart you are, by showing me how stupid everyone else is. Show me how smart you are, by showing me how smart everyone else is.”
Michael Lewis said that doing improv feels like its a muscle we should all be exercising.
“It is amazing what happens when you listen to people in a generous way. When you are looking for the thing they are saying that is useful. Where that leads you, is often just magical.”
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