From the course: Nano Tips for Interpersonal Communication with Shadé Zahrai

Avoiding the most common conversation buzzkill

From the course: Nano Tips for Interpersonal Communication with Shadé Zahrai

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Avoiding the most common conversation buzzkill

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Here's a very common conversational mistake that turns people off and kills connection, and most people aren't even aware that they're doing it. It's called conversational narcissism, coined by sociologist Charles Dauber and describes people that consistently redirect conversations back to themselves. I had an interesting weekend. I went hiking and discovered a beautiful waterfall. Speaking of the weekend, I went to this fantastic concert and then my friend had backstage passes, so we got to hang out with the band. I had to spend the afternoon at a spa to relax. It was amazing. What was it that you said? I was actually just telling you about my weekend. Oh, and I forgot to mention, I also started this new painting. And the lesson here is people love to share about themselves. Self disclosure triggers the brain's mesolimbic dopamine reward pathway and delivers a powerful neurological buzz. But don't dominate the conversation. Allow for back and forth. Interrupting that is literally a buzz kill.

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