This is a replay of a Leadership Story Talks podcast that originally posted on March 20th 2023
What do Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Tim Cook, Barack Obama, Richard Branson, and Larry King have in common? They are great listeners and know when to stop talking.
In this episode Julienne and Jerome talk to Dan Lyons, New York Times bestselling author, screenwriter and journalist, about the power of talking less and listening more. Dan recently published ‘STFU: The Power of Keeping Your Mouth Shut in an Endlessly Noisy World’, a book he decided to write after realizing that his work to become a better listener was much bigger than himself.
This episode dives deeper into how talking and listening shape not only our private relationships, but also leadership, business, social media and society at large. Dan talks about the science of how we relate to silence and why we often decide to talk rather than listen (and sometimes regret this). Although our world often encourages talking rather than silence and celebrates great talkers, Dan argues that listening more will really make your life better. And as organizations try to reconnect and rebuild post-covid and customer feedback is becoming increasingly important, learning how to listen is also more essential than ever.
Dan leaves us with a couple of great ideas on becoming better at being silent and listening and shows us that some of the most successful people, both in business and public service, are humble and quiet listeners.
If you ever think ‘wow I really shouldn’t have said that’, or if you want to find out what is going on in your company, this episode is for you.
Notes:
Learn more about Dan Lyons
Buy ‘STFU: The Power of Keeping Your Mouth Shut in an Endlessly Noisy World’
This is the study that shows how ‘Likes’ and ‘shares’ teach people to express more outrage online
