Matt Abrahams

They think they can go from silence to brilliance without it.

Having a communication with somebody as mundane as you want it can really help.

Do you use this technique?

It looked like it resonated with you.

Filling the space.

Right.

And that turn taking, that switching is engaging for the brain.

I would suggest, though, that when you are up on a stage giving a big presentation, leading a big meeting.

You can actually engage in dialogue.

It's not just calling on people, but you can ask them.

You can say, imagine what it would be like if, and now you're imagining it.

We are in a communicate.

You're responding, even though I'm not hearing it.

I can use an analogy or tell a story.

We are communicating, taking turns.

In essence, you're just not responding vocally to me.

So a big challenge is to be engaging, and there's several ways to do it.

There's physical engagement, getting people doing something.

There's mental engagement, using analogies, stories, questions.

There's linguistic engagement, taking people into the future or the past by saying, picture this or imagine how it used to be.