Gurteen Knowledge Letter
Issue 257 – November 2021
I am often asked which is better – a face-to-face conversation or a Zoom conversation? It’s a rather broad question, so let’s give it some focus.
“In having a creative conversation between two, three or four people (maybe one looking to generate ideas or explore an issue), which environment (face-to-face or Zoom) leads to the higher quality, more satisfying conversation and why?”
I have posted this question in the Conversational Leadership Forum on Linkedin and would love to hear your thoughts.
Contents
- Our Gutenberg Moment?
The impact of social media - Engaging in short friendly conversations improves people's thinking
Friends with Cognitive Benefits - Tweets of the month October 2021
October 2021 - What is politics?
A broad definition - Leadership in Complexity and Change
For a World in Constant Motion - He had his conversation in the world
Conversari: to live, dwell, live with, keep company with - Help Keep My Work Alive
- Unsubscribe
- Gurteen Knowledge Letter
Our Gutenberg Moment?
The impact of social media
In the history of knowledge, the development of the printing press in Germany by Gutenberg in 1436 had a massive impact on the world.
Not only did it help lead to the Scientific Revolution, but also the Protestant Reformation that in turn led to the Thirty Years' War, considered one of the most destructive wars in European history.
With the invention of social media and, more recently, communication tools like Zoom, are we going through a Second Gutenberg Revolution?
Is this Our Gutenberg Moment?
Engaging in short friendly conversations improves people's thinking
Friends with Cognitive Benefits
Research shows that engaging in short friendly conversations boosts people’s performance on a variety of cognitive tasks.
A study in 2011, Friends (and Sometimes Enemies) With Cognitive Benefits: What Types of Social Interactions Boost Executive Functioning? by researchers at the University of Michigan, tested 192 undergraduates to determine which types of social interaction helped and which didn’t.
The researchers concluded that engaging in short conversations where participants were instructed to get to know one another boosted their performance on various cognitive tasks.
When participants engaged in competitive conversations, their performance on cognitive tasks showed no improvement.
Tweets of the month October 2021
October 2021
I am still tweeting what I consider interesting material once or twice every day. Here are two of my top tweets for October.
At the end of a conference presentation, there is the obligatory question from the chairperson to the audience “Are there any questions? There are many reasons why Q&As are not a good idea.
Curious conversations are the most underrated, undervalued secret of success. 9 out of 10 conversations miss the mark. According to research out of Stanford, 90% of conversations are ineffective.
What is politics?
A broad definition
In writing my blook, I often find myself wishing to write about a topic. However, before I get into it too deeply, I need to clearly define a component concept whose everyday use I am not entirely satisfied with.
For example, I recently started to research and write about political narrative. I realized that my view of the word politics was too narrow, and not only did I need to update this in my mind but also in my earlier writings.
Interestingly I could not find a definition of politics that was broad enough for me, and so I wrote my own.
In its broadest sense, politics is the actions or activities of a person or group to influence or control decisions and the outcomes of those decisions within a specific group context, e.g., a country, community, or organization.
These actions or activities include gaining power or helping others achieve power and consequently influencing or controlling the decisions and outcomes.
I also had to update my book post Politics is Life, to take into account this broader definition.
One of the benefits of a blook that I love is that nothing is static, with new insights, and I can update it at will — something you can rarely do with a conventional paper book.
Leadership in Complexity and Change
For a World in Constant Motion
Sharon Varney's new book recently arrived, Leadership in Complexity and Change: For a World in Constant Motion. I have put it through my "how good is this book test" by opening it randomly on several different pages, and each time, it has held my attention - a pass! Now I should start at the beginning.
He had his conversation in the world
Conversari: to live, dwell, live with, keep company with
A little while back, I came across an online etymology dictionary and was fascinated to learn the roots and the evolution of the word "conversation".
conversation (n.)
mid-14c., "place where one lives or dwells," also "general course of actions or habits, manner of conducting oneself in the world," both senses now obsolete; from Old French conversacion "behavior, life, way of life, monastic life," and directly from Latin conversationem (nominative conversatio) "frequent use, frequent abode in a place, intercourse, conversation," noun of action from past-participle stem of conversari "to live, dwell, live with, keep company with," passive voice of conversare "to turn about, turn about with."
It seems to me that this obsolete meaning fits well with the concept of Conversational Leadership. You might say that Conversational Leadership is about how "we conduct ourselves in the world" or maybe "how we interact with the world."
Anyway, I had forgotten all about this old usage until, in March 2019, I was walking in London from Charing Cross to the City, along Fleet Street, and visited some of the many churches along the way. I love the quiet and peacefulness of old churches amid the hustle and bustle of modern-day London.
I sat at a pew in a church called St Dunstan-in-the-West for a while contemplating life, and as I came to leave, I decided to read one or two memorial plaques on the wall. The photo is the first one I read — a sad story of a young man who drowned in the Rhone in 1848 near Geneva, and there halfway down the plaque were the words:
"He had his conversation in the world".
That old 14th-century meaning was still in use almost 200 years ago.
Note: I previously published this post in my old blog on gurteen.com, but I love it so much I have published it again here.
Help Keep My Work Alive
For almost 25 years, I’ve been sharing the Gurteen Knowledge Letter each month, and many of you have been reading it for five years or more. My Knowledge Café also reached a milestone, celebrating its 20th anniversary in September 2022.
If my work has made a difference to you, I’d be grateful if you could consider supporting it. A small monthly donation or any one-off contribution would greatly help cover some of my website hosting costs.
Thank you to the 50+ patrons who already support me – your generosity means a lot.
Unsubscribe
If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, please reply to this email with "no newsletter" in the subject line.
Gurteen Knowledge Letter
The Gurteen Knowledge Letter is a free monthly email newsletter designed to inspire thinking around Conversational Leadership and Knowledge Management. You can explore the archive of past issues here.
If you're not already subscribed, you can sign up to receive it by email each month.
Feel free to share, copy, or reprint any part of this newsletter with friends, colleagues, or clients, as long as it's not for resale or profit and includes proper attribution. If you have any questions, please contact me.
David Gurteen
Gurteen Knowledge
Fleet, United Kingdom
