The Power of Communication | Nina Legath | TEDxYouth@ISF

00:10:04
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-9OL4UtqDs

Summary

TLDRThe speaker argues that communication skills are the most critical capability for success in both personal and professional realms. Highlighting a shift towards automation and AI, they explain that while machines will handle more operational tasks, humans will be needed to deliver meaning and empathy through communication. The talk emphasizes the need to focus on others when communicating, suggesting that this approach will enhance personal impact and foster better connections. Ultimately, understanding the human aspect of communication, which is rooted in meaning and relationships, is essential for thriving in a rapidly changing landscape.

Takeaways

  • 💬 Communication is crucial for personal and professional success.
  • 🤖 Automation will change job roles but increase the need for human connection.
  • 🌟 Focus on your audience's needs to enhance your communication impact.
  • 🧠 Conveying meaning is more important than simply sharing information.
  • 🤝 Relationship-building is at the heart of effective communication.
  • 👥 Empathy in communication fosters stronger connections.
  • 🎤 Leaders must communicate a vision to inspire their teams.
  • 📈 Good communication can differentiate you in a competitive job market.
  • 🔮 The future of work emphasizes the role of harmonious human interaction.
  • 🎯 Communication skills will endure, regardless of technological changes.

Timeline

  • 00:00:00 - 00:10:04

    The speaker highlights the importance of communication skills, emphasizing their personal bias due to their profession in communication. They reflect on their upbringing, where hard work and academics were valued over communication, until they entered the workforce and realized that conveying information effectively was crucial for success. Looking into the future, the speaker envisions a work environment transformed by technology, where humans add value primarily through communication, especially in fields like medicine, where empathy and storytelling will become vital components of patient care. The significance of relationship-building as the essence of effective communication is stressed, alongside the blurring of traditional professional roles, calling for communication-aware leaders who can inspire and engage communities. The speaker encourages the audience to communicate with intention and purpose and provides practical advice, focusing on the importance of understanding others' perspectives rather than solely personal objectives.

Mind Map

Video Q&A

  • Why is communication considered the most important skill?

    Communication is essential for conveying information and fostering relationships, especially in a rapidly changing world where technology takes over many tasks.

  • How can I improve my communication skills?

    Focus on the needs of your audience, understand their emotions, and ensure your message conveys meaning and connection.

  • What role will communication play in the future of work?

    As automation increases, communication will become central to decision-making and relationship-building in all professions.

  • What should I focus on when preparing for communication?

    Consider what your audience knows, what they need to learn, and their emotional connections to the topic.

  • Is communication only important in business?

    No, effective communication is crucial for personal success and meaningful relationships in all aspects of life.

  • How does communication relate to leadership?

    Superior communication skills are often a hallmark of effective leaders, helping them to inspire and engage their teams.

  • What is the main takeaway from this talk?

    Communication is about meaning and connection; focusing on others enhances your impact.

  • How does AI affect the role of humans in the workplace?

    AI will take over manual tasks, but humans will add value through communication and relationship-building.

  • What is the advice given regarding self-focused communication?

    It's important to shift focus from yourself to your audience for effective communication.

  • What future scenarios should we anticipate regarding communication?

    As we move toward an automated workforce, visionary leaders and strong communicators will be essential.

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  • 00:00:02
    I believe the most important skill you
  • 00:00:05
    can have is communication skills and I
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    admit I am biased because I make my
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    money with communication but think about
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    why Rohit such as mine even exists in
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    big companies Communications is more
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    important than ever for businesses for
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    sure but also for us personally and
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    today I want to focus more on the power
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    of communications for us personally and
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    that has more to do with my passion than
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    with my job so when I was a lot younger
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    my parents taught me the you know the
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    art of hard work
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    I studied earn good grades and everyone
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    was happy yeah I had to present every
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    now and then at school and at university
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    but it was never really the core of my
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    activities it was never what my success
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    depended on then I had to apply for a
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    job
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    the the interview processes and entered
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    the working world and I realized it was
  • 00:01:05
    becoming more important to convey
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    information than done then to no
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    information so communication the way I
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    communicated had a significant impact on
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    my success probably all of you are right
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    now thinking about what to do with your
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    future lives and what you study and what
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    to work right so let's do a little
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    thought exercise together a time travel
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    2025 years from now how will your work
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    like look like what you will what will
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    you be doing can you imagine yourself
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    but you'll sit at a desk probably not
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    will you type probably not let me give
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    you some pointers some technology
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    developments that are already becoming
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    apparent and shaping the bird we live in
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    big data will optimize our decision
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    making the artificial intelligence in
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    general will completely transform the
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    way we work because all of the
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    accounting
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    tasks will be taken care of by machines
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    with the highest levels of scalability
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    and precision and all manual tasks will
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    be taken care of by robotics and
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    automation and even performing actual
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    surgeries can you imagine and I'm not
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    saying don't study medicine or don't
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    study finance of course not because
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    wherever machines take over part of the
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    job there is more possibility for the
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    humans to add value in a different way
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    but what is this value ed what I'm
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    saying is that this value add part will
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    have a lot to do with communication in
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    any job so let's say in the field of
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    medicine and let me give you a example
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    artificial intelligence will be able to
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    perform the most accurate diagnose a
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    robotic surgeon will then perform the
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    most precise and least invasive surgery
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    and what will the human doctor be doing
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    she will take in the information and
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    form a vision a story she will then
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    share the story with the patient right
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    and discussing options about next steps
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    so that the patient can take decisions
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    together with the doctor decisions he or
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    she can feel good about the doctor will
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    address concerns and fears with the
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    highest levels of empathy in other words
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    the human doctor will communicate yes
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    the way we communicate can be so
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    impactful it's becoming more important
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    to convey information and to charge
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    information with meaning than to simply
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    know information you all know that you
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    grew up with Google and Wikipedia facts
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    are easily accessible but the question
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    is how do we to convey it to use the
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    power of communications and the whole
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    our whole economy is really transforming
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    into a service-based one
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    if you think about it when all manual
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    tasks will be automated
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    the relationship-building tasks will be
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    reserved for the humans which is the
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    most which is you know relationship
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    building is communication is the most
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    human side of communication and the
  • 00:04:42
    question is really what's next right we
  • 00:04:45
    are only scratching the surface right
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    now because when most of the operations
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    are being automated you will need strong
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    visionary leaders that inspire these
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    operations that shape and oversee them
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    and then you will need strong
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    communicators that share this vision in
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    the story with the communities that are
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    impacted by it and those two roles those
  • 00:05:11
    two personas the one the chaste vision
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    and the one that communicates it they
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    don't have to be two separate physical
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    people we are moving they are
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    transforming into a world where really
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    traditional boundaries are completely
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    blurring and competencies are converging
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    it's really up to you what you make out
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    of it your generation can work of a
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    white canvas so how do we tap into all
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    of these possibilities and how do we use
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    the power of communications for
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    ourselves for you this is not a future
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    scenario you know that probably but you
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    are communicating all of the time
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    whether you talk with people or you
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    don't wait whether you send that email
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    or you don't your social media
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    activities whether you do them or not
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    you are sending a message you cannot not
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    communicate you are going through your
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    days communicating the question is what
  • 00:06:10
    is the vision that we form what is the
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    meaning that we give to things
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    what is the story that we tell and how
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    do we convey it to others how do we
  • 00:06:20
    enable others to make decisions that's
  • 00:06:23
    the question
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    so I think the first the most important
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    thing is really to become aware of it
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    and to communicate with purpose because
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    if you don't you can create outcomes
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    your life that you don't want but if you
  • 00:06:39
    start communicating the purpose your
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    power of communications will help you
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    achieve the things that you want to
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    achieve in my work as a Communications
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    Manager and as a coach I come across
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    people so often that ask me for advice
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    and their concern is how do I become
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    more impactful how do i position myself
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    as a leader and most of the time almost
  • 00:07:05
    100% of the time I can guarantee you
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    it's down to communication skills every
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    successful person has superior
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    communication skills so my case to use
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    the following we are living in a world
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    of change at scale and the pace of this
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    change is unprecedented in human history
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    but what doesn't change is the fact that
  • 00:07:32
    we are all humans humans with human
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    needs and one of these needs is meaning
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    and another one is connection and both
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    of them can be really achieved by
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    communication so I haven't given you any
  • 00:07:48
    practical advice yet on how to improve
  • 00:07:51
    your own communication skills and really
  • 00:07:53
    the goal for this talk for me was just
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    to raise awareness and help you
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    understand why it is so important but if
  • 00:08:01
    I just can give you one piece of advice
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    it's the one piece of advice that I
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    always give the leaders that I work
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    together with my mentees and my friends
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    it's the following advice it's not about
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    you communication is not about you we
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    naturally start to think about ourselves
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    when preparing a communication what do I
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    need to say what do I want to say what
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    do I want to achieve and I'm not saying
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    that these things are not important but
  • 00:08:34
    where you can really make the difference
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    is are the elements that focus on others
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    if you only start focusing on others
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    then your communications impact will be
  • 00:08:45
    boosted to an entire new level
  • 00:08:47
    so ask you
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    serve the questions what do they know
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    about the topic the people that I'm
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    talking to what do they need to know
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    what are their inspirations and what are
  • 00:09:00
    their emotions connected to the topic
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    this last one is very important because
  • 00:09:04
    it speaks to that human side again and
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    it's the thing that you can learn when
  • 00:09:09
    you're face to face it's the easiest
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    thing because then you just look people
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    in the eyes and start to tune in to what
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    they feel and think about them rather
  • 00:09:21
    yourself
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    so in closing let me just stress again
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    communication is about meaning and is
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    about connection both of which are human
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    needs that will persist whatever the
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    technology changes are and if you only
  • 00:09:39
    remember that and focus on the purpose
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    of your communication and start to think
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    a little bit more about the others
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    versus yourself then the power of your
  • 00:09:49
    communication will carry you through
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    your life and help you and others thank
  • 00:09:54
    you
  • 00:09:55
    [Applause]
Tags
  • communication
  • skills
  • change
  • automation
  • AI
  • success
  • relationships
  • leadership
  • personal development
  • future of work