UTSKRIFT 🔗
WEBVTT
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Ooh, tell me how to love me Tell me how to love
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me And won't you tell me how to love me Tell
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me how, tell me how to love me What makes people
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connect? And what makes us want to run? There
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are an infinite number of personalities in this
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world So it's really hard to say what makes people
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connect. And I find this episode particularly
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funny because we're also going to talk about
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some really annoying traits that people have.
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And I think we can safely call them traits because
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we're not talking about a one -off here. Let's
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face it. Some people can be really weird. But
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when you think about it, it's amazing what we
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connect over money, social status. background,
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history, music, values, where we grew up, and
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of course, humor. And sometimes the things that
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make somebody fascinating don't necessarily make
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them our person. We might meet Joe and discover
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he lived for five years, I don't know, on the
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Nile River. That's fascinating. Joe is really
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cool. I want to hear all about the Nile. But
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after an hour, I may also realize that Joe and
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I are never going to be besties. And then there's
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Jane. Jane may be a perfectly wonderful person,
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but if she's obsessed with some topic that makes
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me want to hit, please remove me from this email
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list. I can't. We cannot be besties with Jane.
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Right? Am I right? And look at how quickly we
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make these judgments. That's probably another
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episode entirely. But today I want to talk about
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something all of us experience. Why do we connect
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with some people almost instantly and with other
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people not so much? Not even at all? Have you
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ever met someone who within 10 minutes thought,
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oh, I'm going to like you? You don't even really
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know why yet. You're talking, they're talking,
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you're laughing. One subject turns into another,
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20 minutes goes by, then an hour. And then there
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are other people. Five minutes into the conversation,
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you're looking for the bathroom, an exit, a fire
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alarm, anything. So what is that? What makes
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us connect with certain people and not others?
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Obviously, everybody is different. What's interesting
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to me might bore you to death. And sometimes
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you're fascinated by what might have me sitting
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there thinking, how long can I stare at this
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person's forehead before they realize I'm not
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listening anymore? So I don't think there's one
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universal formula for being interesting, but
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I do think there are certain things that make
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a conversation and ultimately connection a whole
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lot better. And there are definitely things that
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make it worse. Believe me, I've met them all.
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Let's start with a big one for me. Conversation
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monopolizers. Oh my God. For me to still be talking
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to somebody 20 minutes after meeting them, They
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have to be really interesting. They have to be
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talking about stuff I actually want to hear about.
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History, travel, current social issues are a
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big one for me. Art, music, and especially people.
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And I don't mean gossip. I'm fascinated by people,
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certain people. Why do people do what they do?
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Why does one person react one way and somebody
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else reacts completely different? What makes
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people fall in love? What makes people become
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friends? What makes somebody blow up a perfectly
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good relationship? What makes somebody incredibly
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successful? What makes someone self -destruct?
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I could talk about that stuff forever, but here's
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the catch. You have to let me get a word in because
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some people talk and talk and talk and you're
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thinking, am I actually required for this conversation?
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Could I leave? Would you even notice? I had a
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friend that we used to call the Bibbidi -Boo.
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Bibbidi -Bibbidi -Bibbidi -Bibbidi -Bibbidi -Bibbidi
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-Bibbidi -Bibbidi -Bibbidi -Bibbidi -Bibbidi
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-Bibbidi -Bibbidi -Bibbidi -Bibbidi
Load full transcript
-Bibbidi
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-Bibbidi -Bibbidi -Bibbidi -Bibbidi -Bibbidi
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-Bibbidi -Bibbidi -Bibbidi -Bibbidi -Bibbidi
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-Bibbidi -Bibbidi -Bibbidi -Bibbidi -Bibbidi
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-Bibbidi -Bibbidi -Bibbidi -Bibbidi -Bibb Conversation
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is supposed to be an exchange of ideas. If you've
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been speaking for 28 consecutive minutes and
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the other person has contributed, uh huh, right.
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Oh, wow. And really, you're not having a conversation.
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You're hosting a podcast they didn't subscribe
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to. And I'm saying that as someone who hosts
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a podcast. Here's another type I steer clear
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of. People who have all the answers, that is
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not my type of person. You know them. It doesn't
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matter what the subject is. Politics, they know.
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Relationships, they know. Medicine, apparently
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they went to medical school overnight. The economy,
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don't worry, they've got it. Quantum physics,
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give them five minutes. They'll explain that
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too. I actually think one of the most interesting
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things a person can say is, I don't know. Or
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I've never thought about that. What do you think?
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Because none of us knows everything. In fact,
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there's a whole universe of things we don't even
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know that we don't know. So when somebody walks
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into a conversation already convinced that they
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have all the answers, I'm usually looking for
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the cardboard cut out again. Curiosity is interesting
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to me. Certainty? Not always. Here's something
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else I realized. I like people who take an interest
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in me. Who wouldn't? I have a few friends who
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ask me pretty deep questions and I like deep.
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I could talk to those few people all day because
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they're curious. They'll ask something and I'll
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think, oh, that's a good question. And then we're
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off and think about how different that is from
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the questions we probably ask people more than
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any other. How are you? How many times do we
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say
that? How are you really? And does anybody
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ever really expect an answer? No. How are you?
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Good. You? Good. Wonderful. We've learned absolutely
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nothing. But then you occasionally get the person
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who doesn't realize, how are you is basically
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a hello. You say, how are you? And they go, well,
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it all started in 1992. Oh God, I can't. I was
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just being polite. I wasn't requesting an authorized
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biography, but seriously, there's a middle ground.
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Instead of automatically asking, how are you?
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Ask. How did that thing go that you were telling
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me about? Did you ever finish that project? How's
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your mother? What happened at that meeting? Those
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questions communicate something entirely different.
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They say, I remember. I remember what you told
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me. I know somebody like that and I love that
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they remember. They were listening and they cared
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enough to ask. And again, that's connection.
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And then we have the people who listen to answer.
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Oh God, you know exactly what I'm talking about.
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You're speaking, but they're not really listening
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to understand what you're saying. They're preparing
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their response. You can almost see it. Their
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mouth is practically twitching. They're waiting.
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They're waiting. Go. And now it's their turn.
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But wait a second. Did you actually hear what
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I said? Because listening is not simply remaining
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silent. until it's your turn to make noise again.
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Real listening takes curiosity. Interest. Sometimes
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somebody says something and you don't immediately
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know what to say. That's okay. Maybe ask another
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question. Maybe say, what do you mean by that?
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Maybe try to understand them before a humming
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them or explaining yourself. Imagine that. I've
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actually been voted the most genuine. And being
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genuine has been a gift in my life, it really
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has. It's also been a challenge sometimes. Because
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I think genuine people can occasionally intimidate
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people. And I can smell phony people for miles,
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miles. Now does that mean my radar has never
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been wrong? Of course not. Nobody's radar is
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perfect. But authenticity matters enormously
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to me. I'd almost rather somebody show me something
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about themselves that I don't like. than spend
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six months pretending to be someone they're not.
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I recently had someone show me their true colors,
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and let me tell you, they weren't pretty. It
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was really off -putting. But strangely, I was
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also glad, because at least it was honest. Now
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I know. There's something very valuable about
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knowing what you're dealing with. And while we're
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talking about people, can we discuss the quiet
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ones? Because quiet people are so often assumed
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to be incredibly intelligent. Somebody sits quietly
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in the corner and everyone thinks, wow, deep
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thinker. Maybe they're brilliant. Maybe they're
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observing everything. Or maybe they have absolutely
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nothing to say. We just don't know. Quiet doesn't
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automatically equal deep. Any more than talking
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automatically makes someone interesting. It is
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what somebody eventually shows you. that matters.
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And sometimes the quiet person eventually speaks
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and you think, huh, I liked you better 20 seconds
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ago. Now let's get into one I really can't stand.
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Consistent gossippers. Notice I said consistent
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because everybody talks about other people. I
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do. You do. We're human beings. And I love talking
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about people. Human behavior fascinates me. It's
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one of the reasons why I started this podcast.
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But there is a difference between talking about
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people and somebody giving you the nightly news
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report on the private lives of everybody you
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know. You know that person? You talk to them
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and in 40 minutes you know who is getting divorced,
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who got fired, who is sleeping with whom, who
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isn't speaking to their sister, who spent too
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much money, who gained weight, who lost
weight.
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Who said what about whom? And apparently they've
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been appointed Director of Communications for
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everybody else's business. And here's a little
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clue. If someone routinely brings you everybody
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else's private business, your business probably
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isn't sitting in a vault. Please don't fall into
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the trap of thinking, well, I'm special. They
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wouldn't do that to me. Oh, yes, think again.
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You are so wrong. If someone consistently tells
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you everyone else's stories, why would you ever
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assume yours is somehow protected by federal
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law? And this is why I prefer something else.
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If somebody says something I really don't like
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or something I wholeheartedly disagree with,
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I would much rather tell them face to face. There's
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an expression. Sicilians will always tell you
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when your face is dirty. That's kind of how I
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operate. If I have a problem with you, I'd rather
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have the conversation with you than have 15 conversations
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about you. And am I honest every single second
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of every day? No. But I'm honest most of the
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time. If I care enough. And at least I'm honest
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about that. Now let's talk about the opposite
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of people who don't tell you anything. Overshares.
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This one is interesting because oversharing can
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make me uncomfortable, but it can also be kind
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of attractive. Because there's something refreshing
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about somebody saying, here I am. This is me.
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I've reached a point in my life where I care
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so little, I care so little about what people
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think of me that I'm sure I've overshared before.
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Of course I have, but not regularly. And obviously,
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if two people are super tight, that's different.
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Then tell me everything. But when somebody you've
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barely met gives you a deeply personal piece
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of information, sometimes I actually find that
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interesting. Maybe they're testing you. Maybe
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they're saying, can I trust you with this? That's
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vulnerability. But if it's happening every 11
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minutes, whoa, run. Because if every conversation
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becomes another crisis, another confession, another
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disaster, another intensely personal revelation,
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you start thinking, Can we talk about a movie?
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Anything simple? Do you like pizza? Deep is attractive
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to me. Constant drama is not the same thing as
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depth. There's a difference. And speaking of
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attractive, humor is a major factor for me. It
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doesn't necessarily go along with deep. You can
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have deep people who aren't particularly funny.
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You can have hilarious people who aren't particularly
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deep. But give me somebody who's deep and humorous.
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Now you've got me talking for hours. That's my
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combination. Some people immediately get my humor,
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other people don't. That's okay. Once I point
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out that I'm joking, they laugh. And the people
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who really get my humor, I have literally made
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people, well, pee. I'm not exaggerating. Now
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that's connection. When you say something completely
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ridiculous, somebody catches it immediately.
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and you don't even have to explain yourself,
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there's something wonderful about that. It's
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almost its own language. Oh, you get me. And
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those are usually the people I can talk to forever.
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Here's one where I have to admit that I changed.
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I used to get annoyed by consistently positive
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people. Can you imagine? I remember telling my
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friend John that he was unrealistically optimistic.
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That was my criticism. And I went on and on.
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He was too optimistic. What a terrible problem
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to have. But here's the funny thing. I've become
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much more like him. And now I enjoy it. It feels
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better. There are no qualms with that one anymore.
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And I think that's worth remembering. Sometimes
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the quality we find irritating in somebody else
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isn't necessarily a bad quality. Maybe we're
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just not receptive to it at that particular point
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in our lives. Maybe it's
something we want for
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ourselves. John didn't necessarily need to become
00:15:04.570 --> 00:15:07.769
less optimistic. Maybe Andrea needs to become
00:15:07.769 --> 00:15:11.029
a little bit more optimistic. There, I said it.
00:15:11.350 --> 00:15:13.049
John, if you're listening, don't get carried
00:15:13.049 --> 00:15:15.490
away. Okay, we've reached one of my favorites,
00:15:15.769 --> 00:15:19.830
the story hijacker. You know this person. Sometimes
00:15:19.830 --> 00:15:22.090
you're trying to make an important point so you
00:15:22.090 --> 00:15:24.690
share something personal. Maybe you're even being
00:15:24.690 --> 00:15:28.470
vulnerable. And suddenly, they covet your story
00:15:28.470 --> 00:15:32.500
every time. You say, My mother got mugged on
00:15:32.500 --> 00:15:36.059
Mulberry Street and they say, oh my God, my mother
00:15:36.059 --> 00:15:38.539
was right around Mulberry Street and the same
00:15:38.539 --> 00:15:42.639
thing happened. Really? Your mother too? Mulberry
00:15:42.639 --> 00:15:47.759
Street? Same thing? What are the odds? LMFAO.
00:15:47.980 --> 00:15:50.419
And now I'm sitting there thinking, is this person
00:15:50.419 --> 00:15:53.879
for real? Because yes, relating through our own
00:15:53.879 --> 00:15:56.399
experiences is normal. If you tell me something
00:15:56.399 --> 00:15:58.220
happened to you and something similar happened
00:15:58.220 --> 00:16:00.929
to me, of course I might tell you about it. That's
00:16:00.929 --> 00:16:04.090
human connection. But every time, every story
00:16:04.090 --> 00:16:07.070
I have, you have one too. Every experience I've
00:16:07.070 --> 00:16:09.629
had, you've had a bigger one. Every person I've
00:16:09.629 --> 00:16:12.690
met, you've met somebody better. Eventually I'm
00:16:12.690 --> 00:16:15.370
not listening to your story anymore. I'm conducting
00:16:15.370 --> 00:16:18.149
an internal investigation. And there's something
00:16:18.149 --> 00:16:21.730
genuinely painful about story hijacking when
00:16:21.730 --> 00:16:24.649
you've shared something personal. Because everybody
00:16:24.649 --> 00:16:27.129
wants to bring some degree of originality to
00:16:27.129 --> 00:16:29.940
the table. You're giving someone a little piece
00:16:29.940 --> 00:16:32.620
of your world. And instead of stepping into your
00:16:32.620 --> 00:16:35.220
world for a minute, they grab the microphone
00:16:35.220 --> 00:16:38.440
and drag everybody back into theirs. Sometimes
00:16:38.440 --> 00:16:41.379
just let somebody have their story. You don't
00:16:41.379 --> 00:16:44.460
always need one too. Now, before this becomes
00:16:44.460 --> 00:16:46.779
Andrea's complete guide to everyone who annoys
00:16:46.779 --> 00:16:50.740
her, let's put me back on trial. Because believe
00:16:50.740 --> 00:16:54.450
me, I have my stuff too. I'm a jokester and I've
00:16:54.450 --> 00:16:56.950
definitely been known to say the wrong thing
00:16:56.950 -->
00:16:59.830
at the wrong time. Somebody can be talking about
00:16:59.830 --> 00:17:02.429
something very serious and I'll make a joke.
00:17:03.009 --> 00:17:06.710
Guilty. I've been castrated. I've been destroyed
00:17:06.710 --> 00:17:10.910
over it in the past and sometimes deservedly
00:17:10.910 --> 00:17:14.410
so because yes, I can see how that could be annoying.
00:17:14.809 --> 00:17:18.769
Look at me. I'm objective. Sometimes humor is
00:17:18.769 --> 00:17:22.170
wonderful. Sometimes humor saves us. Sometimes
00:17:22.170 --> 00:17:25.769
it breaks tension. Sometimes somebody is telling
00:17:25.769 --> 00:17:29.170
you something deeply serious and the last thing
00:17:29.170 --> 00:17:32.950
they need is Andrea doing a tight five. You live
00:17:32.950 --> 00:17:35.890
and learn. You read the room. And when you don't
00:17:35.890 --> 00:17:38.730
read the room correctly, well, sometimes you
00:17:38.730 --> 00:17:41.730
apologize. And sometimes you make another joke.
00:17:42.609 --> 00:17:44.430
Here's something that doesn't bother me at all.
00:17:44.789 --> 00:17:47.609
Silence. I have absolutely no issue with it.
00:17:47.829 --> 00:17:50.640
If I'm on a trip with a few people, and we're
00:17:50.640 --> 00:17:53.420
driving and suddenly everybody gets quiet, we'll
00:17:53.420 --> 00:17:56.259
notice it. Maybe someone comments on it, but
00:17:56.259 --> 00:17:59.460
it's not weird. And I remember a family holiday
00:17:59.460 --> 00:18:01.579
dinner. I think it was last Christmas Eve. We
00:18:01.579 --> 00:18:04.920
were at my mom's and my stepdad's house. And
00:18:04.920 --> 00:18:07.559
through the entire dinner, I'm talking all the
00:18:07.559 --> 00:18:10.160
courses. Nobody was talking. It was the most
00:18:10.160 --> 00:18:12.839
bizarre thing. Every few minutes somebody would
00:18:12.839 --> 00:18:15.599
interject just to laugh about the fact that no
00:18:15.599 --> 00:18:19.119
one was talking. Why? because the food was so
00:18:19.119 --> 00:18:21.019
good. Maybe you were going to say, I thought
00:18:21.019 --> 00:18:24.319
it was bad. The food was so good. People were
00:18:24.319 --> 00:18:27.759
practically scoffing down their plates. We had
00:18:27.759 --> 00:18:30.819
the seven fishes, scallops, dipped in breadcrumbs,
00:18:31.099 --> 00:18:34.059
fresh menagothi, penne, every possible side dish
00:18:34.059 --> 00:18:37.740
you can think of, dessert. Nobody had time for
00:18:37.740 --> 00:18:41.160
conversation. We weren't fighting. Nobody was
00:18:41.160 --> 00:18:44.019
uncomfortable. Nobody had anything against anyone.
00:18:44.339 --> 00:18:47.500
We were eating. And I think comfortable silence
00:18:47.500 --> 00:18:49.980
actually says something about connection. You
00:18:49.980 --> 00:18:52.440
don't always have to perform. You don't have
00:18:52.440 --> 00:18:55.720
to fill every second. If I can sit next to you
00:18:55.720 --> 00:18:58.799
and neither one of us has to manufacture conversation
00:18:58.799 --> 00:19:01.980
just to prove we're comfortable, that's pretty
00:19:01.980 --> 00:19:05.440
comfortable. I love that. And this brings me
00:19:05.440 --> 00:19:08.200
to something important. You can have an amazing
00:19:08.200 --> 00:19:10.900
connection with somebody and still not know whether
00:19:10.900 --> 00:19:14.119
or not you can trust them. Those are two completely
00:19:14.119 --> 00:19:18.329
different things. Somebody can be funny, interesting,
00:19:19.269 --> 00:19:25.369
deep, charming, curious, great company. You can
00:19:25.369 --> 00:19:28.289
talk with them for six hours. And guess what?
00:19:28.630 --> 00:19:31.450
You still don't know. When someone asks me how
00:19:31.450 --> 00:19:34.289
I know whether I can trust a person, my answer
00:19:34.289 --> 00:19:38.109
always is, you never really know at first. You
00:19:38.109 --> 00:19:40.269
go with your instinct. You have to go with your
00:19:40.269 --> 00:19:42.930
gut. And then hopefully you turn out to be right.
00:19:43.069 --> 00:19:46.410
Because the only true barometer for trust is
00:19:46.410 --> 00:19:50.549
time. Time. That's it. You can have instincts.
00:19:50.710 --> 00:19:54.349
You can read people. You can watch. You can listen.
00:19:54.890 --> 00:19:58.950
And most people listen the most or the best when
00:19:58.950 --> 00:20:01.910
they don't speak that frequently. But time eventually
00:20:01.910 --> 00:20:04.210
shows you things that a great first impression
00:20:04.210 --> 00:20:07.329
can't. Does the person keep your confidence?
00:20:07.930 --> 00:20:11.819
Do they show up? Are they consistent? Are they
00:20:11.819 --> 00:20:14.880
the same person around different people? What
00:20:14.880 --> 00:20:17.519
happens when they're angry? What happens when
00:20:17.519 --> 00:20:20.619
you disagree with them? What happens when you
00:20:20.619 --> 00:20:23.339
have something they want? What happens when you
00:20:23.339 --> 00:20:26.220
don't? What happens when life isn't going their
00:20:26.220 --> 00:20:29.799
way? That's when you learn. Chemistry can happen
00:20:29.799 --> 00:20:33.859
in 10 minutes. Trust cannot. So after thinking
00:20:33.859 --> 00:20:36.039
about all of this, I don't think connection comes
00:20:36.039 --> 00:20:39.670
down to having the exact same interests. I don't
00:20:39.670 --> 00:20:42.250
even think you have to agree on everything. For
00:20:42.250 --> 00:20:45.009
me, it's something more like this. Be interested
00:20:45.009 --> 00:20:48.410
and be interesting. Have something to say, but
00:20:48.410 --> 00:20:51.930
let me say something too. Ask questions, real
00:20:51.930 --> 00:20:55.549
ones. Listen to the answer. Don't pretend you
00:20:55.549 --> 00:20:58.930
know everything. Make me laugh. Go deep once
00:20:58.930 --> 00:21:02.450
in a while. Don't go deep every 11 minutes. Be
00:21:02.450 --> 00:21:05.009
genuine. If you're going to tell me everybody
00:21:05.009 --> 00:21:08.089
else's business, understand that I'm probably
00:21:08.089 --> 00:21:12.009
not giving you mine and let me have my story
00:21:12.009 --> 00:21:14.569
without immediately stealing it. And if we have
00:21:14.569 --> 00:21:17.130
nothing to say, for God's sakes, we can just
00:21:17.130 --> 00:21:19.990
eat dinner. Maybe the people we connect with
00:21:19.990 --> 00:21:22.349
most aren't necessarily the smartest people in
00:21:22.349 --> 00:21:25.829
the room or the funniest or the most successful
00:21:25.829 --> 00:21:29.589
or the loudest or the quietest. Maybe they're
00:21:29.589 --> 00:21:32.480
simply the people around who we feel like we
00:21:32.480 --> 00:21:35.559
can be ourselves with. We can talk. We can listen.
00:21:35.940 --> 00:21:39.460
We can disagree. We can laugh and laugh it off.
00:21:39.759 --> 00:21:42.720
We can say something stupid. We can occasionally
00:21:42.720 --> 00:21:46.559
say the wrong thing. We can go deep. We can be
00:21:46.559 --> 00:21:49.700
ridiculous. And sometimes we can just shut the
00:21:49.700 --> 00:21:53.299
hell up and eat. I keep saying this a lot lately
00:21:53.299 --> 00:21:56.400
and it's very true. We are all in our own way
00:21:56.400 --> 00:22:00.170
completely full of shit. Me included. I've never
00:22:00.170 --> 00:22:02.269
really flocked towards people who are too tight
00:22:02.269 --> 00:22:05.490
around the edges, too stuffy. It's just not my
00:22:05.490 --> 00:22:07.930
style. It wasn't how I was raised. But you know
00:22:07.930 --> 00:22:11.190
what? I can respect it. Maybe Buffy has something
00:22:11.190 --> 00:22:14.349
useful to say. Who really knows? And that's part
00:22:14.349 --> 00:22:16.809
of the point. Maybe the person you initially
00:22:16.809 --> 00:22:20.089
think isn't your type has something that's really
00:22:20.089 --> 00:22:23.509
important to teach you. Maybe somebody you initially
00:22:23.509 --> 00:22:26.009
find annoying. eventually becomes one of your
00:22:26.009 --> 00:22:27.990
favorite people. You know, you've said that before.
00:22:27.990 --> 00:22:30.569
Oh, I thought you were a bitch and you guys become
00:22:30.569 --> 00:22:33.490
best friends. It happened to me with optimism
00:22:33.490 --> 00:22:35.910
and maybe somebody you instantly connect with
00:22:35.910 --> 00:22:39.069
turns out over time not to be somebody you can
00:22:39.069 --> 00:22:42.430
trust because connection is funny that way. Connection
00:22:42.430 --> 00:22:45.950
can happen instantly or not at all. Trust takes
00:22:45.950 --> 00:22:48.829
time and the best conversations are not about
00:22:48.829 --> 00:22:51.269
impressing somebody. They're about discovering
00:22:51.269 --> 00:22:54.349
each other. So tell me who you are. Actually,
00:22:54.609 --> 00:22:57.930
don't tell me. Show me. And I'll do the same.
00:22:58.809 --> 00:23:01.809
This is Social Magnet. Thanks for tuning in.