7 Ways to Make a Conversation With Anyone | Malavika Varadan | TEDxBITSPilaniDubai

7 Ways to Make a Conversation With Anyone | Malavika Varadan | TEDxBITSPilaniDubai

Introduction

In this section, the speaker introduces herself and poses a question to the audience.

Introducing the Topic

  • The speaker greets the audience and introduces herself.
  • She asks the audience if they know the person sitting next to them from before today.

Conversations as Links

  • The speaker compares conversations to links that are formed every time we talk to a stranger.
  • She explains how these links get stronger with each conversation, creating a massive World Wide Web of conversation.

Importance of Conversations

  • The speaker highlights how conversations can make war or peace and define who we are as a human race.
  • She emphasizes that every single person in our life was once a stranger until we had that first conversation with them.
  • The speaker encourages the audience to talk to strangers and learn something new or have an experience they've never had before.

Tips for Talking to Strangers

In this section, the speaker shares her tips for making a conversation with almost anyone.

Establishing Connection

  • The speaker talks about her job as a radio presenter where she has 20 minutes to establish a connection with 1.6 million people she can't see.
  • She explains how she leaves a smile on their faces by informing, exciting, engaging but most importantly connecting with them through her words.

Simple Tricks

  • The speaker shares her simple tricks for talking to strangers.
  • She encourages the audience to say the first word, which acts as a floodgate and makes everything else flow.
  • The speaker advises keeping it simple with a "Hi," "Hey," or "Hello."

Conclusion

In this section, the speaker concludes her talk.

Final Thoughts

  • The speaker concludes by encouraging the audience to talk to strangers and have conversations that can change their lives.

How to Have a Good Conversation

In this section, the speaker introduces herself and explains how to make conversations with strangers memorable.

Making Conversations Memorable

  • Skip small talk and ask personal questions.
  • Ask about unique things like interesting names or where someone comes from.
  • Find common ground by looking for "me too"s.
  • Pay a unique compliment that is genuine and not overused.

Personal Story

  • The speaker shares a story of how asking a cab driver about his life led to him proposing marriage to her.

Overall, the speaker emphasizes the importance of making conversations personal and finding common ground in order to have more meaningful interactions with strangers. She also encourages giving genuine compliments that are not overused.

How to Make Conversation with Anyone

In this section, the speaker shares seven tips on how to make conversation with anyone.

Making Conversation

  • Pay a unique and genuine compliment.
  • Ask for an opinion.
  • Keep it simple and generic when asking for an opinion. Listen actively without interrupting.
  • Listen to listen, not just to reply. Be present in the conversation by making eye contact.

Remembering Details

  • Remember details about people such as their name, places they like to go, pets' names, etc.
  • Repeat back these details and be genuinely interested in them. This makes people feel important and invested in the conversation.

Conclusion

  • The speaker concludes by encouraging viewers to use the upcoming break as an opportunity to talk to strangers using these tips.
  • A conversation is like reading a book; you can turn to any page you want.

The Importance of Human Stories

In this section, the speaker expresses her sadness about how human lives are being reduced to 140 characters and catchy headlines. She emphasizes that humans are not abridged versions and deserve more from each other.

The Library as a Place for Human Stories

  • The speaker asks what people will do in the library, whether they will just look at hardbound copies and read titles or actually reach for a book.
  • She encourages people to open a page and start reading a story because humans are entire stories, not just abridged versions.

This is the only section available in the transcript provided.

Video description

“We mustn’t speak to strangers.” Malavika Varadan, challenges this societal norm, by presenting 7 ways to make conversation with anyone. RJ extraordinaire, Malavika Varadan, creates waves quite literally with her morning show, Breakfast No.1 on City 101.6. An avid fitness enthusiast, positivity ninja and drama queen, she has chiseled a benchmark in the radio industry. At TEDxBITSPilaniDubai she will choose to redefine connections. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx