June 21st, 2024

Seven Conversation Hacks

The article shares seven conversation hacks to enhance communication skills: using names, repeating key points, adjusting eye contact, pausing for reflection, asking for opinions, and listening for feedback.

Read original articleLink Icon
Seven Conversation Hacks

The article provides seven conversation hacks to improve communication skills. The first hack suggests saying the name of a person who seems disengaged to bring them back into the discussion. The second hack advises repeating the difficult part of a conversation or asking questions if unclear. The third hack involves changing eye contact to subtly shift the conversation dynamics. The fourth hack recommends pausing to allow for reflection and letting the conversation flow naturally. The fifth hack emphasizes the importance of stopping to ask for the other person's opinion or slowing down the pace to ensure clarity. Lastly, the article highlights the significance of listening to the room's response after speaking to gauge the effectiveness of the message delivery. These hacks aim to enhance interactions and ensure effective communication in various settings.

Related

The hacking of culture and the creation of socio-technical debt

The hacking of culture and the creation of socio-technical debt

Algorithms shape culture, dividing it into niche groups. "A Hacker Manifesto" by McKenzie Wark discusses hackers' influence on power dynamics, emphasizing free information. Tech giants like Facebook and TikTok wield immense cultural influence, blurring propaganda and personalization boundaries. Corporate dominance in culture hacking alters global power structures, challenging governments' regulatory capacity.

We no longer use LangChain for building our AI agents

We no longer use LangChain for building our AI agents

Octomind switched from LangChain due to its inflexibility and excessive abstractions, opting for modular building blocks instead. This change simplified their codebase, increased productivity, and emphasized the importance of well-designed abstractions in AI development.

Avoiding Emacs Bankruptcy

Avoiding Emacs Bankruptcy

Avoid "Emacs bankruptcy" by choosing efficient packages, deleting unnecessary configurations, and focusing on Emacs's core benefits. Prioritize power-to-weight ratio to prevent slowdowns and maintenance issues. Regularly reassess for a streamlined setup.

How to think in writing

How to think in writing

Henrik Karlsson emphasizes writing's role in refining thinking by making ideas precise and complete. Writing helps transition from fluid thoughts to clear claims, inviting feedback for deeper understanding and improvement.

Software Engineering Practices (2022)

Software Engineering Practices (2022)

Gergely Orosz sparked a Twitter discussion on software engineering practices. Simon Willison elaborated on key practices in a blog post, emphasizing documentation, test data creation, database migrations, templates, code formatting, environment setup automation, and preview environments. Willison highlights the productivity and quality benefits of investing in these practices and recommends tools like Docker, Gitpod, and Codespaces for implementation.

Link Icon 2 comments
By @bityard - 4 months
8. Don't interrupt someone in the middle of their sentence just because you think your idea is more important than theirs. About 1/4 the engineers I've worked with have this problem.
By @tpoacher - 4 months
Mentioning the other person's name is a personal pet peeve of mine, after having met too many people who seem to think that doing so repeatedly somehow gives them a powerhandle over the conversation.