Two 2-Word Conversation Sparks: One’s A Prefix. The Other’s A Question.
Photo by Harold Wijnholds on Unsplash
Hey there, hero!
Dave Schools recently wrote an article for Medium that echoed something I learned a long time ago as a reporter and a talk show host.
Including the phrase he reminded me of, I have two tiny little two-word phrases that can make your conversations a lot deeper and a lot more information filled.
When you want to get the attention from your “dancing partner” in a conversation, try these.
Just a reminder that AMA II, Electric Boogaloo is just a few days away, so ask me anything, in the comments, via email or however you like.
Link to Dave’s article: The 2-Word Trick That Makes Small Talk Interesting
Hope this helps!
David
Raw YouTube Captioning
hey there it’s David H Lawrence the 17th
how you doing here oh I I recently read
an article that reminded me of something
that I learned way back in the 80s late
80s early 90s when I first started doing
talk shows and what I found really
interesting about this article that I
read on medium by a guy by the name of
Dave schools is he was crediting this
newfound phrase that he found really
interesting to podcasters modern
podcasters people today and you know I
had to chuckle because this is this is
pretty well tread ground this is old
advice he heard people like Gary
Vaynerchuk and Tim Ferriss and some
people from NPR using it and he’s like
that’s good that’s really good and it
reminded me that you know a long time
ago program director at a radio station
that I was working on it said look what
you want to do is you want to put your
guests at ease and you want to make them
think that they can give you a gift so
instead of just asking a question
start your question every so often not
every time but every so often with two
words and if you do that you’re gonna
make them feel like oh they’re wanted
and they’re there information is
valuable and some people don’t realize
that that’s the case they think when
they go on a talk show or when they’re
being when they’re in a conversation at
a party that they’re being grilled or
that they’re you know they’re just kind
of passing the time for people they
don’t realize how valuable their time is
and you can make somebody’s time feel
much more valuable to them by starting a
question with two words and the two
words are I’m curious and then go on
with the question it makes such a
difference because it says you know I’ve
always been thinking about this and oh
you’re just the right person to answer
this question and you know I’m curious
and I could ask anybody else in the
world but you seem to have the best
answers so you get that that kind of
like welcomemat effect
of saying hey if you could answer this
for me that would be great it would
satisfy it would scratch this itch that
I have it would satisfy this curiosity
that I have so great the Tim Ferriss
uses it great the Joe Rogan uses it I’ve
given you a link to the article so you
can see what happens but those of you
who’ve been in radio and I know a lot of
the people that watch these videos have
come from radio as I have and so if
you’ve done talk shows and you’ve gotten
any training and interviewing I’m sure
you’ll get a kick out of it oh look how
new this is but there’s one more phrase
that I want to kind of layer on top like
icing on a cake that I also think you
will find useful and that is when you
ask a question and somebody explains
something and you truly do want more
information but you don’t want to say
something like oh really tell me more
because that kind of seems generic or
I’m wondering why that’s the case you
know just another another simple
two-word phrase will work for you and
that is how so just like that how so you
know I really think that you know
Congress is barking up the wrong tree on
this issue oh really how so and saying
how so isn’t argumentative it isn’t
saying I don’t believe you it isn’t
saying yeah I really don’t I don’t agree
with you and it kind of ties into a
video that we said earlier we talked
about earlier in this series where when
somebody is saying something that you
think they just might be assuming and
you really would like to find out if
they have the backup for it you can ask
the phrase how do you know that that’s a
little bit more accusatory that’s it you
know how do you know that is like really
huh tell me how you know that you know
but how so very interesting very
innocent very yeah just looking for some
facts ma’am you know how so haha how so
it just works and when you find yourself
you know we did the series of networking
videos when you find yourself in a
situation where you want to engage the
person in a really in a deeper
conversation
in a conversation that has more meaning
more fact more more feeling those two
phrases right
I’m curious question and how so can be
really really useful and I’m wondering
if that kind of especially for those of
you that came out of radio is this kind
of thing that you were taught when you
when you first did talk shows or maybe
you just organically figured out how to
do interviews I don’t know
I love interviews I’ve done over 12,000
interviews between radio and podcasting
over the years and I just adore it I
love digging in when people have
something really interesting about their
lives or about their business or about
their their jobs or their points of view
I just love those so I’m curious and how
so I’m curious what do you think of
those phrases let me know in the
comments below
and tell me how so I’d love to know what
your thoughts are on this if you’d like
to join my list and know when these
videos come out there’s a box even
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list so go ahead and fill that out and
get on the list I’d love to have you and
we’ll do another one of these by the way
don’t forget a couple of days we’re
gonna be doing AMA to electric boogaloo
ask me anything so if you have any
questions about anything that I’ve dealt
with in this video series anything about
me anything about vio heroes about the
world of performance voice over on
camera if you have questions about
rehearsal Pro or if you have questions
about anything revolving around that let
me know let me know post your questions
and/or send them to me just figure out a
way to get them to me and and we’ll do
another AMA cuz the last one just turned
out so great that’s coming up in a
couple of days so make sure you get your
stuff in now I’m David H Lawrence xvii I
thank you so much for watching and I
will talk to you tomorrow.
I have a couple.
“I understand that…” or “I understand you…” This indicates that one has done his research or due diligence on the interviewee but is less egocentric than “I Know,” or I want to know.”
It is also good to preface a question with a directed statement about the person, beginning with “you (whatever,) before asking the question. Again, placing all the attention on the other person.
Love it!
I love that! I recently joined our local Chamber of Commerce and am just beginning to go to the different meet and greet events. I am going to employ these techniques. Thanks!