The ART of Conversation

"Mental Health Awareness Month was established in 1949 to increase awareness of the importance of mental health and wellness in Americans’ lives and to celebrate recovery from mental illness. For more than 20 years, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has recognised?Mental Health Awareness Month (MHAM)?every May to increase awareness about the vital role mental health plays in our overall health and well-being and provide resources and information to support individuals and communities who may need mental health support."

SAMHSA - Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (.gov)

Ironically we are in the age of social media where everyone is connected in the click of a button. After you have seen what is online there is a huge disappointment and unhappiness that spirals into loneliness.Thousands of friends online but no-one around you when you need them the most. Today's paper has some startling facts:

Comparison creeps in when we compare ourselves to those on social media and seeing their progress and comparing it to our position in society. We forget the presence of the green screen! Start by keeping social media "social". When you comment positively on other’s post, you feel good about it . Keep the time there limited. Try and start sharing your own understanding of life, struggles & experiences. Make it about giving and showing up consistently, it makes a difference.

Have genuine conversations. Make it not about you alone, but about your interest in the other person and their life as well. Let it be a conversation. William Hazlitt says it best, “The art of conversation is the art of hearing as well as of being heard.”

Today in the world of shorts and reels, conversations seems to be a dying ART!

Many interviews turn into conversations when the interviewer/host? does not sit there to extract information from the celebrity/guest but touches the human aspect. All it takes is for the host to create that atmosphere to make the guest comfortable and feel that he /she is in front of another human being!

Some of the finest interviews have been on “Rendezvous with Simi Garewal” where she made the guests so comfortable that they shared their most innermost secrets. No offence to reputed journalists, clearly media today, seems to be there for creations of headlines and not genuinely knowing what the guest wants to share.

“Hosting is an art form. Like acting, singing, or comedy hosting is a craft. It's a delicate dance of timing, the ability to read the room, and the art of conversation.” Todd Newton’s words describe this as an art so perfectly.

According to the dictionary, “conversation” is described as a talk between two or more people.This is an ART. If ART is an acronym each letter stands for something deep’ the missing ART of Conversations is what I will be exploring today. Speak to people around you & you will realise what amazing human beings we will amongst.

Ask

“Life is a conversation. Make it a good one.” Glennon Doyle Melton

Ask open ended questions that allow your subject to open up. If you are genuinely interested even the most difficult introvert will open up. It is just that we should convey our interest in knowing the other person. Th more curious you are, the more you help them to be themselves. The most amazing interviews are where the host is crisp with the question & helps the guest open up making it more a conversation than a question answer session. When life becomes a subject in interviews, I notice how beautifully conversations unfold.

Rephrase:

“The art of conversation lies in listening.” Malcolm Forbes

Rephrasing is telling what you said in your own words. This way the other person feels you are genuinely interested.Clarifications too happen when you rephrase. This is so beautifully seen in interviews where many a time the host picks phrases used by the guest to move logically into the next step in conversation.This makes the interview like a conversation that it is enjoyable for us to be part of and does not seem like an intrusion.

Tact:

“The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right place but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.” DorothyNevill

This is where many lose it. Sometimes they try to fill-in for the guest which is not tactful.? The guests thoughts may be leading elsewhere which gets completely derailed. In order to show how well prepared they are, many interviewers end up interjecting or not allowing the guest to sink deeper.? Silence is powerful? at such times that? some very confident hosts use silence as a technique to get their hosts to share. Cicero says it powerfully,“Silence is one of the great arts of conversation.”

It's Friday & also the day of #filmyfridays. Watched a beautiful conversation yesterday, one of the nicest interviews of Mammooty in a long time. It had some profound statements made by the superstar on life, passion & fickleness of public memory.?The simplicity was evident in the way he looks at life. Admire Khalid Al Ameri for the beautiful wy he demonstrated what the ART of Conversation was all about.

The beautiful way Mammooty made his host so much at ease and made it a lovely conversation instead of a boring interview.

Would love to know what the ART of Conversation means to you.

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It is Mental Health Awareness month & this week on my human Library podcast, we have a very special guest. Premalatha Balasubrahmanyam - a Psychotherapist with 15 years of Mental health experience spanning India and the USA.

She specialises? in De-addiction, relationships, anxiety & stress management and mediation counselling. Her practice caters to groups/teams, individuals, and families. She was the Team coach for? IPL Mumbai Indians, 2013. She has worked with corporates on the areas of Psycho education & emotional IQ building She has led? lIM Indore students on an experiential leadership program on trek slopes She is also a Psychotherapist at Spandana Mental Health Care

Prema has dedicated her career to helping individuals navigate life's challenges with resilience and empowerment. Her approach is rooted in compassion and evidence based techniques, tailored to each client's unique needs. Through a Holistic perspective, she guides individuals towards healing and self discovery, fostering growth and positive changes.? As a seasoned professional, she is committed to fostering mental wellness and facilitating transformative journeys towards holistic wellbeing.?

She is an avid fitness and outdoors enthusiast with a commitment to sustainable and eco friendly travel.

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Remember to register for this conference that I will be part of.

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