Gurteen Knowledge Blog December 2, 2020, 12:01As a child, we are taught not to talk with strangers, and as a 4-year-old with little experience of the world, this is probably sound advice. But as an adult, talking with strangers can be exceptionally rewarding. Knowledge Letter: Issue: 247 (Subscribe)Tags: children (5) | conversation (198) | talk with … Continue reading Talking with Strangers Can Be Exceptionally Rewarding Talk to strangers
In this book, The Power of Strangers, Joe Keohane explores the benefits of talking with strangers. He examines how even fleeting interactions can improve empathy, happiness, and cognitive development, ease loneliness and deepen our sense of belonging. AustraliaAustriaBrazilCanadaChinaCzech RepublicEgyptFranceGermanyGlobalIndiaItalyJapanMexicoNetherlandsPolandSaudia ArabiaSingaporeSpainTurkeyUAEUnited KingdomUnited States As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission when you … Continue reading The Power of Strangers: the Benefits of Connecting in a Suspicious World Joe Keohane (2021)
Abstract Recent findings indicate interventions can boost executive functions — mental processes that have long been thought to be static and not open to change. The authors examined whether and how short-term social interactions could create such cognitive benefits. Study 1 found that basic get-to-know-you interactions (with or without an explicit cooperative goal) boosted executive … Continue reading Friends (and Sometimes Enemies) with Cognitive Benefits: What Types of Social Interactions Boost Executive Functioning? Oscar Ybarra, Piotr Winkielman, Irene Yeh, Eugene Burnstein, Liam Kavanagh (2011)
Gurteen Knowledge Blog May 9, 2023, 16:19The Fortune Magazine article, titled A Team of Scientists Explains How to Get Measurably Happier by Doing One Simple Thing, highlights the positive impact of brief conversations with strangers on happiness, even for those who experience anxiety. Engaging with strangers appears to disrupt the cycle of loneliness and depression, and … Continue reading How Talking to Strangers Boosts Happiness The Power of Conversations
Gurteen Knowledge Blog May 30, 2023, 14:21I have long been a fan of Randomised Coffee Trials (RCTs) — social experiments where people are randomly matched for coffee meetings to facilitate knowledge sharing and relationship building. If you’re unfamiliar with the concept, you can learn more about it in my blook. Typically, RCTs are run within organizations … Continue reading The World Talks The world’s biggest dialogue experiment
Talk More Make Big Talk Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter Talk with strangers: As a child, we are taught not to talk with strangers, and as a 4-year-old with little experience of the world, this is sound advice. As an adult, however, talking with strangers can be rewarding. But why and how should … Continue reading Talk with Strangers Why and how should you talk with strangers?
Talk with Strangers Connect More Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter Make Big talk: We are all familiar with small talk. But what’s big talk? No, not boasting, bragging, or talking big, but big talk — deep, genuine, meaningful conversations. What is big talk? Let me start by acknowledging and crediting Kalina Silverman, … Continue reading Make Big Talk Make big talk not small talk
Introduction: Conversational Spaces British Gentlemen’s Clubs ** Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter The London coffeehouses of the 17th and 18th centuries were the engines of creation that helped drive the Enlightenment, the European intellectual movement that emphasized reason and individualism rather than tradition. Their history is a fascinating one. Modern-day coffee shops such as … Continue reading The London Coffeehouses of the Enlightenment Centers of Enlightenment thinking
Orality ** Verbal Judo ** Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter Research shows that engaging in short friendly conversations boosts people’s performance on a variety of cognitive tasks. A study in 2011 by researchers at the University of Michigan tested 192 undergraduates to determine which types of social interaction helped and which didn’t. The … Continue reading Friends with Cognitive Benefits Engaging in short friendly conversations improves people’s thinking
Connection Before Content Understanding Debates Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter Conversare events are social gatherings in public places where people engage in one-to-one conversations with strangers. Conversare events are the brainchild of Alan Stewart, who runs them in Adelaide, Australia. Alan describes them this: The name Conversare (pronounced conversari) comes from the Latin: to … Continue reading Conversare Events Social gatherings which people engage in one-to-one conversation with a stranger
Benjamin Franklin’s Junto Club The Dewaniya ** Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter The word Stammtisch is German. A Stammtisch is both a group of people, who meet regularly in a bar or restaurant, as well as the large table, around which the group gathers. Stammtisch tables are reserved for regular customers at which … Continue reading Stammtisch Tables Tables in pubs or restaurants reserved for regulars
Randomised Coffee Trials at Red Cross Red Crescent Hong Kong MTR Coffee Evenings and Liaison Trains Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter Some years ago, I attended one of Theodore Zeldin’s Conversation Dinners in Oxford. It was a fascinating experience. We sat in pairs, our partner had already been selected, and as well as … Continue reading Intimate Conversations Conversations with strangers
Reverse Brainstorming Café Town Hall Meeting ** Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter The Conversation Dinner, inspired by Theodore Zeldin, connects strangers for meaningful conversation. With a unique menu of thought-provoking questions, it encourages open exchanges that move beyond small talk, creating opportunities for deep, memorable connections. The idea of the Conversation Dinner comes … Continue reading Theodore Zeldin’s Conversation Dinners Dinner and a stimulating conversation with a stranger
