How to Have Great Conversations & The Surprising Truth About Optimism

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

Do you want to hear about Visionaries creating a better world? People working in conservation, exploration, science and tech, alongside storytellers imagining and creating a better future. I'm Alex Honnold, professional rock climber and founder of the Honnold Foundation, bringing you season six of Planet Visionaries. This season, I speak to guests like National Geographic photographer Tom Pechak, and Anna Rathmann, Executive Director of the Jane Goodall Institute USA, in partnership with the Rolex Perpetual Planet Initiative. Watch Planet Visionaries on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

Mike Carruthers (0:32)

Today, on Something You Should Know, the quickest way to get rid of that song that's stuck in your head. Then, what makes a great conversation and how you can be better at it?

Vanessa Van Edwards (0:43)

Good conversation. First of all, it's louder, volume goes up from both parties, then there's a lot more movement, facial expressiveness, mouth opens. Wow, really?

You get more leans, you get more hand gestures.

Mike Carruthers (0:57)

Also, why you don't notice things happening around you right now. The father of positive psychology, Martin Seligman, explains agency and optimism.

Martin Seligman (1:08)

Agency and optimism go up and down. If you wake up as I do occasionally at four in the morning, you're in a low agentic state, and the troubles you have all appear insurmountable. Whereas at noon, the very same troubles seem insurmountable and agentic.

Mike Carruthers (1:26)

All this today on Something You Should Know.

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SPEAKER_5 (3:08)

Something you should know. Fascinating intel.

Martin Seligman (3:10)

The world's top experts.

SPEAKER_5 (3:13)

And practical advice you can use in your life.

SPEAKER_6 (3:16)

Today, Something You Should Know, with Mike Carruthers.

Mike Carruthers (3:21)

I'm sure you've had a song or part of a song get stuck in your head. And it'll eventually go away. But there's a way to get rid of it faster. And that's what we're going to start with today on this episode. Hi, I'm Mike Carruthers. Welcome to Something You Should Know.

So you know when you get that 15-second hook of a song stuck in your head and it just plays over and over again. There's a name for it. We've talked about it before on this podcast. It's an earworm. And usually it is just a short piece of the song rather than the entire song. But here's the useful part. One way to get rid of it may be to listen to the entire song from beginning to end. That can help your brain get beyond the little fragment that it keeps repeating. Another surprisingly effective trick is chewing gum.

Research suggests the movement involved in chewing gum can interfere with the mental processes involved in replaying music in your head. So, the next time you can't get a song out of your head, you can fight back with Spotify or a piece of gum. And that is something you should know.

We spend a huge part of our lives talking with other people. And our ability to have a good conversation is so important in every area of life. Yet nobody really teaches us how to have a good conversation. How do you start talking with someone you don't know without it feeling awkward? What do you say when a conversation stalls? How do you change the subject, gracefully get out of a conversation, or make sure someone actually enjoys talking with you and wants to do it again?