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Wisdom from Alan Alda

Last week Alan Alda was in town and gave a talk at The Technion. Thanks to a Wellesley friend we heard it was happening and grabbed seats to listen. Having a chance to hear from Hawkeye Pierce in person was pretty amazing. What he had to say as Alan Alda was thought-provoking. He was in town as part of his Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science. He and his team were working with a group of young scientists on how to communicate complicated science to the general public.

His talk that evening was more general about communication. He said a few things that I think are well worth considering and internalizing.

1. If you are really listening you'll be open to being changed by the speaker.
His point is that if we are really open minded and really listening then we aren't crafting our response or counter argument while the speaker is talking. Therefore we've totally opened and cleared our minds and that allows for us to have our opinion changed as a result of the speaker. Active listening isn't enough.

2. What are we not saying about our topic? 
Knowing what we are going to say on our topic is important. However, equally important is the point of what we aren't saying. It's not the material we are leaving out. Rather it is the question of what is underneath what I am saying to you, that requires my attention and consideration when I am preparing to talk to and audience. What is so important that it is driving me to this work that has brought me to a point in time where I am talking to the public about my topic? That unsaid content is often more valuable and compelling and makes for more successful communication.

3. Think about your audience and how to connect with them - how should you communicate in order to connect to the audience, to the listeners.
While this point is very appropriate and targeted to those in the harder sciences, the point is relevant to anyone who speaks about anything. We have gotten to a point where too often we have forgotten about the role of the listener, of the audience. If we do not know our audience - what compels and engages them - then we cannot successfully communicate with them.

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