Live Blissed Out
Live Blissed Out
155 - ACTive Communication: How to Command Any Audience in Your Business and Your Life!
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Christopher Peck is a Communication Coach based in Denver, Colorado. He’s been featured in “Preferred Health Magazine,” the “Emancipate Your Mind” podcast, and “Talking Live” with Dr. Robi Ludwig. As a shy, awkward kid growing up, communication didn’t come naturally to Chris. He was bullied, had difficulty standing up for himself, and adopted a strong “people pleaser” persona to make friends and build relationships. Chris eventually found stage acting and directing and used the tools of the theatre to embolden his own intentional communication style. Now he uses theatre arts inspired training and techniques paired with strategic communication practices and innovative psychological research and data to help clients master their influential voice.
Communication is hard, which is why Christopher partners with passionate, motivated people interested in progressing, empowering, and in some cases, reclaiming their voice. Whether it’s preparing for a Ted Talk, developing your organizational story, or asserting healthy workplace boundaries, Christopher helps clients make communication a little bit easier.
To sign up for a free communication consultation, contact Christopher at www.speakintoactioncomm.com. Follow him on Instagram @chrisspeaksup
You can purchase his book on Amazon at https://a.co/d/bTi5WGg
In this episode we cover:
- Eye Contact and Communication Fatigue 0:00
- The Importance of Communication in a Digital Age 2:39
- Challenges and Opportunities in Public Speaking 7:35
- The Role of Empathy and Curiosity in Communication 14:03
- Practical Steps to Improve Communication Skills 18:05
- The Impact of Cultural and Personal Backgrounds on Communication 18:19
- Engaging Audiences and Building Relationships 22:20
Thanks so much for tuning in again this week. I appreciate you 🙂
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Special thanks to Christopher Peck for being on the show.
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Did You Know 0:00
Most of us know about the importance of eye contact, but did you know that there's such a thing as too much eye contact? Eye contact fatigue is real, which is why research concludes eye contact is most effective when utilized 50% of the time while speaking and 70% of the time while listening.
Intro 0:17
Hello, action taker. Welcome to Live. Blissed Out a podcast where I have inspirational and informational conversations with business owners and subject matter experts to help you get the scoop on a variety of topics. Tired of hesitating or making decisions without having the big picture. Want to be in the know, then this is the place to go. I'm your host. Marisa Huston, helping you achieve bliss through awareness and action. So let's get to it. Christopher Peck is a Communication Coach based in Denver, Colorado. He's been featured in preferred Health magazine, the emancipate your mind podcast and talking live with Dr Robbie Ludwig as a shy, awkward kid growing up, communication didn't come naturally to Chris. He was bullied, had difficulty standing up for himself and adopted a strong people pleaser persona to make friends and build relationships. Chris eventually found stage acting and directing and used the tools of the theater to embolden his own intentional communication style. Now he uses theater arts inspired training and techniques paired with strategic communication practices and innovative psychological research and data to help clients master their influential voice. Communication is hard, which is why Christopher partners with passionate, motivated people interested in progressing, empowering and in some cases, reclaiming their voice, whether it's preparing for a TED talk, developing your organizational story, or asserting healthy workplace boundaries. Christopher helps clients make communication a little bit easier. To sign up for a free communication consultation. Contact Christopher at, speak into action. Com.com, follow him on Instagram. At Chris speaks up. You can also purchase his book, active communication, how to command any audience in your business and your life on Amazon via the link in the show notes.
Disclaimer 2:04
The information, opinions and recommendations presented in this podcast are for general information only, and any reliance on the information provided in this podcast is done at your own risk. This podcast should not be considered professional advice.
Marisa Huston 2:16
Chris, welcome back to the podcast. I'm so excited to talk about your new book today.
Christopher Peck 2:22
Thank you so much, Marisa, I'm so excited to be here.
Marisa Huston 2:24
You've been busy since the last time we spoke, and you have a new book out, and it primarily talks about communication, which I feel very passionate about, because it's kind of the lifeblood of everything that makes us human, how we interact with each other, and part of it has been lost, and it's because we're not really aware of the differences that have taken place in the last few decades, especially with the introduction of all the digital stuff that we're exposed to. And so I'd really like to have heart to heart conversation with you about the importance of communication, some of the key things that we need to be thinking about so that we can not lose that connection that is so vital to our humanity.
Christopher Peck 3:06
I couldn't agree with you more. You know, I think the word that you use, like communication, is one of the most human things that we can do. And when we talk about technical advances over the last 100 years, what are those technical advances have been computer driven and AI driven, and it feels like we're at a moment where we have an opportunity, with all of this great technology at our fingertips, to really dive into what we should be best at, which is being human beings.
Speaker 1 3:34
I read your book, and one of the things that you talked about there, that I think will resonate with a lot of people, is our fear of being judged, especially when we do public speaking, because people have this tremendous fear of how people are going to perceive them if they say the wrong thing or they judge them for whatever reason. And there's a difference between trying to present yourself in front of other people as opposed to being authentic in the way that you express yourself or communicate with other people with compassion and kindness. We have a standard that we put ourselves under, where we say, I'm worried that if I say the wrong thing, somebody might take what I'm saying in a different way, that might not be the way I wanted it to come across. And so it's trying to find that balance. And I think part of the challenge is that we don't get exposed as much anymore, because we're so used to texting, sending emails, doing everything digitally, that face to face interaction like the conversation we're having right now, we don't have anything scripted. We're just saying what's coming across our heads. That's a lost art, don't you think?
Christopher Peck 4:34
Oh, absolutely. You know whether it's a lost art or it's an evolving art, or it's an art that we, you know, continue to forget about or not prioritize, because, you know, I'll be first to say, like a lot of stuff that's in this book, it's not brand new. Dale Carnegie was talking about this almost 100 years ago, and a lot of the examples that he uses in his book How to Win Friends and Influence People are to your point. It's about using names, it's about making eye contact, about smiling when we connect with other individuals. And so. So I think the challenge of communication and interacting and connecting with other people has always been there and has always been prevalent. And at the same time, we are dealing with some really unique nuances in terms of how communication is going to change over the next couple of decades, with proliferation of AI with other digital enhancements. You know, you talked about texting and using the example of the conversation that you have with somebody and they're on their phone while you're trying to connect with them. And it's, it really is about reasserting our humanity and learning how to do what I feel like is what we do best, which is like to connect and build deeper, more meaningful personal and professional relationships. And that's what so much of this book is about. You know, you talked about the challenge of bridging that gap between the intention behind our communication and the impact that we want to have on an audience. And I wrote this book because the bridge between those two things, intention and impact is performance. It's the way that we show up, it's the way that we perform communication, the way we act out communication. There's a very heavy theatrical component to the book, and I did that intentionally because I wanted to help others realize that when we think about our authenticity, we should also be thinking about, how do we want to be seen, felt and experienced? What do we want that authenticity to look like? How do we want audiences to experience ourselves and to really show up in communities intentionally with that humanity at the forefront of the way that we're connecting with other people.
Marisa Huston 6:23
Your book does talk a lot about the performance side of things, and it got me thinking that one of the reasons why people are so fearful of public speaking is simply because it is kind of a performance. You're almost overthinking things you're concerned about. Am I saying the right thing? Am I expressing it in such a way that people will interpret it the way I want them to? Whereas when you're having a genuine, one to one conversation with somebody, it's more impromptu. You don't really put too much thought in what you're saying, and you feel like, okay, well, if I mess up with one individual, hopefully they'll tell me. But when you're talking about hundreds of people watching you say something, there's more at stake. And on top of that, you can't really think things through when you're being impromptu, as opposed to, let's say you're sending a text, you can type it and then you can think about it and then even change the words before you hit send. But we don't have that luxury when you're talking, and so I think a lot of people have a fear, and especially in today's society, where we are put under a lot of pressure to use appropriate words, to use things that are not going to come across in a way that we didn't want them to, or maybe get somebody interpreted in a way that we didn't intend.
Christopher Peck 7:31
Yeah, and I think there's a lot to unpackage there. You know, the first thing that you talked about is the nuance and the differences between public speaking and interpersonal communication. I 100% agree with you that as our audience gets larger, the stakes or the impact that we have also increases, which I do think creates anxiety. I think it creates fear. I think it creates insecurity. And at their core, I believe that public speaking and interpersonal communication with the exact same thing, as you were talking about, the insecurity that often comes from public speaking. I'm afraid of saying this, I'm afraid of doing this. I'm afraid of being judged. And one of the challenges of that is when we make whether it's public speaking or interpersonal communication, all about me, we've already failed. Human connection is about connecting with another individual. It's about creating influence in our relationships. And from that perspective, it's not about me, the message that I'm conveying, the performance of my communication, the relationship that I'm creating, absolutely I benefit from it, but I think we spend too much time worried about me when it comes to communication, and not focusing on what do I want my audience to do as a result of the communication that they're hearing? How do I want them to go away feeling? What experience do I want to create for them, and why is that important in the grand scheme of the relationship that I'm trying to build?
Marisa Huston 8:46
So spot on, and it's that shift in mindset that makes all the difference.
Christopher Peck 8:51
Agreed, if you can take communication off of yourself, first of all, give yourself a break, whether you're on stage or it's just the two of us talking and right? And we have an interesting conversation going on right now because you and I are exchanging in a fun interpersonal communication between two people, but we're also being recorded, and so there will be a larger public audience listening to us. And so we're public speaking under the guise of interpersonal communication, which is this playful nuance in and of itself within the podcast world. But if we can take the pressure off of ourselves and focus on the other, what do I want Marisa to take away from this conversation, or from your perspective? What do I want Chris to take away from this conversation? What do I want my listeners to take away from this conversation? Give ourselves a break, and let's put the impetus on them. Let's put the value on our audiences, on our other, on the relationships that we're trying to cultivate and just give ourselves a break.
Marisa Huston 9:44
It's so true. And if we just think of a podcast in general, a lot of people will say, Well, why don't you just have a conversation with Chris? Well, I can, but I find that to be a little selfish, because part of the beauty of podcasting is. Be able to not only have a conversation where we learn from each other, but be able to share that with our listeners. And so for me, it's a real win win, and I think the excitement is for other people to engage and get involved in the conversation, so they walk away with something of value. And it's not a value that you and I are just keeping to ourselves. And so part of that is what I like to call the Win Win Win effect, where everybody benefits. And when I have conversations with my guests, like we're having one today, I'm thinking, What will our listeners want to get out of this conversation? Like, what are some things we can help them walk away with that will give them a little bit of extra resources that are going to get them to get better, grow as a person, because at the end of the day, that's what we're all doing. We're learning and growing and trying to be better all the time. And so I want the listeners to always feel like, okay, I understand, in this conversation that I listened to with Chris and Marisa that this is the topic we're talking about effective communication, and how that impacts us. Okay. But now, what now that I know that there are opportunities for improvement? What are some things I can take away from that? And so that's why you're here, and I'd love to hear your general concept of some of the things that you're seeing. And what are some things then that our listeners can take away to help them improve this communication process going forward, specifically in this new digital world that we live in.
Christopher Peck 11:21
Yeah, I mean, to the point of living in a digital age with proliferation of AI, the world is changing in terms of, what is the human being's responsibility versus what is the computer's responsibility versus what is my phone's response? You know? So that relationship is changing, and I see it as such a tremendous opportunity. If there are things that a computer can do faster and maybe even better than I can like let's take stock of those things, and then let's take stock of the things that a computer can't outperform me at, and what is more important, or more obvious than my humanness, a computer cannot outperform me as a public speaker, a computer cannot outperform me as an empathetic human, as someone who creates human connection between two people. And so what does that mean in terms of leaning into some of these soft skills that, for various reasons throughout education kind of tend to sit at the background, you know, whether it's just assumed that we'll learn them. But why don't we lean more into these soft skills, these human skills, and what I think are some of the hardest skills, and use this as an opportunity to lean into our humanity so that we can move in the direction of our fullest potential, and use some of these digital resources and computer resources to supplement everything out. And so I'm kind of excited about it. I see more opportunities for this. I don't have to look at my phone anymore because it's doing what it needs to do all by itself. And I get to engage with you and have a conversation with you and learn more about you and connect with you, and through strengthening that relationship, where do we have the opportunity to go from there? And so that's really where I see that we're at right now is an opportunity to use this digital age to lean into what makes human beings human beings. And I see that as connection, I see that as collaboration, I see that as communication. They see that as building stronger, more palpable relationships. Like we have a real opportunity right now, and I think we need to jump on it and take advantage of it.
Marisa Huston 13:27
Yeah, and we need it more than ever. One of the things that I feel like we can all really benefit from, and I think your book mentions this, practicing, right? Practicing is important. We have to apply the skills. It's not just knowing about it. Awareness is key. They always say knowledge is power. Well, it's applied knowledge, because you can know all the things, but if you don't actually put it into practice, it means nothing. It's really about when you put that knowledge into action, where all the magic happens. I'd love your perspective on this, but for me, one of the things that I feel we all could really start to put into practice and learn really well that will benefit us all is just asking questions. I think that that's the area of opportunity that we all have that could really bridge relationships. I think that a lot of times when we're talking, we're just so focused on expressing what's on our mind, and we don't really spend a lot of time asking what the other person is thinking from that conversation, and I think that's where the magic really happens, is when you understand their perspective, because you're seeing things from one lens, and then as soon as you ask the question, you start to see things in a completely different way that you would have never imagined. And as far as I'm concerned, that's the exciting part. I look at things and I go, my gosh, I never thought of that before. Thank you. And you don't get that without asking questions. And I think that that is what's lacking today, is I find that people are really good at telling you what they think, but they rarely take the time to ask you. So what are your thoughts? I'd love to hear your perspective. You know, it's just that one additional question in the conversation that makes all the difference.
Christopher Peck 14:59
Oh. I couldn't agree with you more. And I do believe there's a deep seated I don't think it's a disinterest in curiosity. I think it's a lack of the skill, and I also think too a lot of that is learned behavior, right? We're going to communicate the way that we were communicated to by mentors and parents and other adults that we looked up to, and so if the community that surrounded us failed in areas of curiosity and interest, of course, that's going to be challenged. Going to be challenging for us. And at the same time, you know, I think one of the sexy words in business and humanity right now is this idea of empathy. And I like to think of this empathetic impact, because I think empathy is an action. So when I think of empathy, I think, what are the actions that I need to create so that not just that I'm feeling empathy, but then my audience recognizes empathy is taking place, and one of the important things that I think we miss in the empathetic conversation is understanding the difference between empathy and sympathy. Sympathy being shared experience. You and I both live in Denver, and from that, we could have a sympathetic response to one another. And I think the challenge of sympathy sometimes is because you've lived in Denver, and because I live in Denver, I immediately assume that you and I have similar experiences, and I turn to the conversation on myself and my assumed understanding of your experience living in Denver. And the reality is that even though you and I live in Denver together, we live in different parts of the city, we have different experiences as a man. You as a woman, you having lived here for three decades. We haven't lived here for one decade. And that's where curiosity and interest comes in. Is getting beneath the assumed understanding and finding the nuance. And for me, the definition of empathy is the ability to imagine the world through the perspective of others, and you don't get to imagine the world through the eyes of another person without information. And that's where Curiosity comes in. That's where interest comes in is yes, it's really easy for us to identify what brings us together it makes us the same, but the curiosity to dig beneath that and to realize that you and I are more than just two people who live in Denver, but our experiences have been magically and wonderfully different and nuanced, and what are those nuances? And so to come at curiosity from that perspective, not to stop with curiosity when we finda point where we're the same, but to continue to dig and find that rich nuance and to be able to imagine the experience of the world through the lens of the person you're talking to, that's empathetic impact to me. That's what an individual, I believe, takes a step back and goes I feel like I'm being heard. I feel like we'll never entirely understand the experience of another individual, but that ability to richly imagine what it must be like to be them, that's what brings human beings closer together. And so to your point, curiosity, interest, that empathetic impact, I dedicated, I think, no less than a half dozen chapters just to talking about curiosity and interest in other human beings as a way to promote and develop deeper, more meaningful personal, professional relationships.
Marisa Huston 18:05
Absolutely, and I think again, we're going back to it starts with awareness, but it's to your point. It's how we were also raised, our personality. So for example, I recently discovered that one of the things that matters a lot to me is this thing called a better way. And a better way simply means that when I'm talking to somebody and they're bringing up something, my mind automatically goes to, oh my gosh, that's a great idea. But how about this? And what about that? Because I love to explore new ways and better ways to get to that same end result. It's just how I'm wired and I get excited. Part of that then becomes having to share my perspective, and then it becomes more of that one sided. I've got some ideas. I want to share it with you, and then you forget to then ask the person, well, what do you think about that? And maybe based on what I just shared with you, do you have a better way and be very conscious about exchanging information rather than providing it from one perspective. So that's one, but the other is that if you get raised a certain way, where, for example, I was brought up to really respect people of authority, and so when people tell me that this is how it's done, or they teach you how to do something, and they're either somebody who is educated in that field or is older than you, or for whatever reason you're supposed to just accept it and respect it. And a lot of cultures are the opposite, where you challenge, you always say, okay, great, I'm glad you think that way, but I'm looking at it from this different angle. And how about we have a dialog about that and see if maybe there's a different approach to this? And in some cultures, for example, that would be not acceptable. It's almost like you're challenging somebody who's supposed to be smarter than you are, more educated than you were, or more experienced than you, whatever those factors are. And so there's a lot of nuances that come into play. How do we address that, Chris?How do we as individuals make sure that we're being very curious and conscientious about. How we communicate with others.
Christopher Peck 20:01
You know, it comes down to action, and to your point, I also grew up in an environment where respect for elders equaled the assumption that what they're telling me is right or correct, and so that becomes a learned script that we take with us. It's how we manage our communication, is how we manage our relationships. It protected us. It aided us. It created an environment of understanding for a long time. One of the challenges that we run into is when we take that with us into other environments or other places, and without realizing that it's no longer serving us, we are now communicating in a new environment using old scripts, and we feel like something that's at odds, you know, we're not sure why other individuals in the organization are so confident sharing our ideas or moving up the corporate ladder in a way that we wish we could. And yet, at the same time, we're working off of these scripts where we never second guess, we never add to we never challenge and so we're being observed, perceived in a very specific way, and I think awareness is exactly where we start. If you're listening to this podcast right now and you're feeling that disconnect in your relationships, first question I'd ask you is, what are the tapes you're playing in your head right now? Are you deferring to other individuals, other relationships, as the authority in the conversation, even though, on an intellectual level, you know that's not entirely true. So what scripts are you deferring to and then get curious around yourself? Why are you showing up in that way? What sparked you showing up in that way? How do you want to show up if you were to think of yourself as a character on stage, how would you want that individual to be seen, felt, heard, and experienced by the audience that's watching them. And then consider, well, what's the difference between that person that I see on stage and the way that I'm showing up in my relationships and my community right now? So I think awareness, I think curiosity. And from there, you can start thinking about, okay, what are the new scripts that I want to start it's going to be scary. It's going to be going to be uncomfortable. It's my relationships that I have right now might find it a little foreign, because they've never heard me communicate this way, but to your point, getting out there and practicing new scripts, where we're showing up intentionally, where we're communicating how we want to be seen, felt, heard and experienced, where we're connecting in a way that resonates with who we feel we are now and how we want to show up versus the way that we showed up in the past that is now latently pushing us in the direction of the way that we're communicating now.
Marisa Huston 20:29
One of the questions that I find is very effective is when somebody makes a statement in a conversation, one of the Things I like to now get used to asking is, why do you feel that way? What brings you to conclude that? Or try to dig deeper into the meaning behind why they support whatever it is that the conversation is about. Oftentimes we just take it at face value. They tell us this, and then we exchange back, maybe with a contradicting viewpoint, but we're not really trying to understand what is leading them to conclude that, and it could be a lot of different factors. It could be how they were brought up, or values that they have, or even so far as the sources of information that they look at. And so digging deeper shows you that you are curious about how they got to that point and vice versa. And I think that allows you to have a much deeper conversation, a much more respectful dialog, and it opens your eyes up to things that potentially you would never have been exposed to,
Christopher Peck 23:29
Absolutely and a richer, more nuanced understanding of the person that's sitting in front of you, who's sharing their ideas that is active respect is coming to the Table and asking questions, you know, thoughtful questions, intentional questions that allow both sides of the dialog to come together and figure out, Okay, what's missing, what's the disconnect between the two of us, and how can we dig deep enough to find that nuance and then move forward with, like, a better and more robust understanding of who the other person is that we're talking to? You know, again, I'm not sure if that's a lost art or if it's an art that we as human beings have never quite mastered, but I do hope that from the book and from listening to this podcast, that individuals are more eager to get curious with one another, to be interested in one another, to practice interest in other people. One of the things it's like, if you didn't grow up in an environment where interest was showed to you. Yes, that may make it challenging for you to show interest in others. And there are action steps that you can actually absolutely take. You can practice when you're at the grocery store, when you're on a first date with your colleagues. You know, you can practice demonstrating interest, asking that extra question, going a little bit deeper, getting just a little bit below the surface level, how was your weekend? Mine was fine, great. Mine was too. And the conversation is over. How can you dig deeper? How can you develop those relationships? There are practice action steps that you can take to cultivate curiosity and interest and make it a part of who you are.
Marisa Huston 24:59
And I think that's what I enjoyed about reading your book. It was a very easy read. It wasn't like a really thick, long book. It got to the point and it showed you key areas that you need to be aware of, and then how you can apply that in your life to get to that place of curiosity, of understanding, of wanting to learn, to want support others, and at the end of the day, that's what communication is all about. And I think that just a lot of people are not even at that place of awareness. They have never been exposed to these things in the kind of environment that we are in today, where we still have people, for example, that will pick up the phone and call you, and many people will reply back in a text because they don't want to talk on the phone. That's where we're at. It's so different. Now everybody's got their own style, and that's why I also feel like even just asking a question, how do you like being communicated to? What's convenient for you when you're talking to a customer, like, what's the best way for me to reach you? Do you like emails the best? Do you want me to call you? Do you want me to text you? It's just simple questions like that that put it back on them to help them understand that you care, that you want to know what they think. And I think it just all boils down to that. And I think that your book, it just lays that out so well, and it was just so easy to read and follow. And that's why I was excited to have you on the podcast. I think a lot of viewers could benefit from that and just being aware, and then to your point practicing, because it'sgoing to take application to get comfortable and start doing these things. We're all still learning. I learn too. I have to be very conscientious about asking questions all the time. But without doing it, it won't happen naturally. So it just takes time, authentic effort and curiosity from all of us to be able to make ourcommunication process better. How do people get a hold of you, Chris, and also learn about how to get a hold of your book?
Christopher Peck 26:42
Oh, absolutely. And to your point, there were really three things that I wanted this book to achieve. One, Iwant to allow individuals to playfully think of their communication as something that is highly performative and theatrical. I don't want people to be afraid of that performance is just that it is to perform an action. And when we think of our communication as an action. We think about our communication from the perspective of the other person, and I think that's really important. The second thing to your point is I wanted it to be short. I didn't want a three or a four or a 500 page book that uncovers the vast history psychology and philosophy of communication we have those. I wanted something short and actionable. And third, I wanted it to be inexpensive. Moving into the new year, as individuals are looking for a place to start on their own communication, growth and change journey, I really wanted to create something that's sort of a why not? It's inexpensive, it's short, and you can read it in an hour and a half. You can put it in your back pocket. You can read it again and again. You can have access to that. That's really what I was trying to create with this. And so hearing that that's been your experiences is really exciting for me. So there will be a link to the book that's attached to the podcast. If you want to connect to me directly, you can go through my website, which is www.speakintoactioncomm.com, or you can just email me directly, which is chris.speakintoaction@gmail.com. I'm also on Instagram. I'm on Facebook. But I would love for this book to become a conversation. I want readers to reach out to me and say, Hey, you said this thing and I'm kind of confused here, or is this really what you meant here? Like I want this to spark a conversation. We start thinking of 2025 as an opportunity to lean in to the most human parts of ourselves, to make 2025 a year, where we commit to deep, rich, authentic relationships, active communication, creating intentional experiences and impactful experiences for our audiences. That's what I want to see come out of 2025.
Marisa Huston 28:40
Me too. That's why I am just so thrilled that you were able to come back and share this information, because I feel like we can all benefit from it. And again, it starts with you need a guide, like just the basic guide. And I think that book that you created here is exactly that. It was so easy to follow, easy to understand, very straightforward, and yet it had the main ingredients of what we need to remember, because I think we just lose sight of conversation, just because we all have to converse every day. But that doesn't mean we're doing it to the best of our ability, and sometimes we have to practice on key areas so that it doesn't become this one sided method that we tend to use. We're always, like, focused on wanting to tell people what we think, but we also have to kind of think about conversations are a two way street, and we really have to carve some time to make sure that during the conversation we're getting the other person to play, to dance, to have that dialog. Because I think most of the learning comes from that.
Speaker 1 28:42
Well. And to your point. You know, most of us, we think of communication as a tool for influence, and I agree, and also I think one of the mistakes that we run into is believing that influence means you're listening to me. And the reality is is the most influential relationships that we can have require me listening to you.
Marisa Huston 29:55
Absolutely. And I think you'll even see that in social media,. The people that are most effective are the ones that are engaging their audience, asking them what their thoughts are, asking them to contribute, And the ones that are just pushing out information, saying, I'm the authoritative person that knows it all, and you have to listen to me, they don't get as much of a response from people because people want to interact. They want to learn from each other. We're built that way. And I think it's just a matter of tweaking the way we have those conversations to get to that point.
Christopher Peck 30:26
Remember that your audience wants to be a part of a performance. You know, they want to be involved in the conversation. Whether they're one of 1000 people listening to a Keynote or a one to one like you and I are having right now, or they're part of a conversation on social media. Your audience wants to play. Your audience wants to be a part of the conversation. Your audience wants to believe that their presence and their voice matters in the larger conversation.
Marisa Huston 30:49
Absolutely. And we can't lose sight of that. We just have to keep remembering that and applying it whenever we do interact with people. And I think it's going to open up a whole new world. I think it just goes back to we fall back into our old habits and how we do things, and it's just natural and very easy to share our knowledge and our insights, but the value of it all is really in the interaction, in the sharing of information and the willingness to understand a different perspective that you never even knew was there. I mean, to me, that's where all the excitement happens, to be honest,
Christopher Peck 31:22
Yeah, if everybody was just like me, What a boring world I would live in.
Marisa Huston 31:26
Super boring. I know this makes it all so much fun, and I appreciate you being here Chris and sharing this with us. Thank you.
Christopher Peck 31:33
Oh my gosh. Thank you so much. I love these conversations. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to come on and talk about my book. Is it just nerd out about communication, because I could do this all day.
Marisa Huston 31:42
Yeah, me too. Thank you, Chris.
Christopher Peck 31:44
Thank you so much.
That's a wrap for this episode of Live Blissed Out. Thanks to Christopher Peck for joining us and thanks for listening. If you have a question or comment for a future episode, all you have to do is go to www.speakpipe.com/ LBOVM, or click the link in the show notes to leave a brief audio message. If you find value in our show, please visit www.liveblissedout.com to reach out, subscribe and share on social media. This show is made possible through listeners like you. Thank you. So long for now and remember to keep moving forward!