1 Big Thing: Be Like Oprah

From Axios "Be like Oprah" - this is an oldie but goodie piece of advice I give when I coach introverted leaders who HATE networking events. It means asking someone lots of questions- and following up with empathy, curiosity, and maybe even another question. NOT responding instantly with your own story. People love to talk about themselves, and so asking questions with intention makes others feel good!

There's an official term — "boomerasking" — for one of the most annoying conversation fails:
Someone asks you a question. When you've barely answered, they boomerang the conversation and start talking about themselves — usually one-upping whatever you managed to say.
Why it matters: In any conversation or relationship, pay attention to how much you're on "transmit," and how much you're on "receive."
Alison Wood Brooks — a Harvard Business School professor, and author of "Talk: The Science of Conversation and the Art of Being Ourselves," out last week shares an experience we all know. "What [seens]like a genuine expression of interest in you suddenly shifts and becomes a chance for your colleague to brag, complain or simply share about herself...As humans, we focus persistently on our own perspective, a trait that helps us survive but also undermines our dealings with others."

A better way: Mike likes this advice from a few years ago in Smarter Living, a former newsletter of the New York Times. You'll be more interesting if you're more interested.
"Channel your inner Oprah," Morra Aarons-Mele, author of "The Anxious Achiever," told the Times. "If you ... ask questions and listen and draw people out, they'll think you're a great conversationalist."
T Pro tip: People like to talk about themselves, but they don't want to feel like they're being interviewed. So give a little, then get a lot!
The bottom line: If you're talking, you ain't learning. And you just might be annoying.

Thanks Mike Allen Erica Pandey Jim VandeHei for the shoutout!

Read the article here.