The World's Best Book Summaries
Why do politics divide people? How much of an effort should you make to understand someone’s life story? If you truly want to get to know someone, you have to stop assuming they come from a similar background as you. David Brooks considers it vital to learn to look at others and appreciate the depth and merit of their perspective. Keep reading to learn more about why understanding different perspectives is important.
Why is getting to know someone so vital to our well-being? How can you improve your moral character and society at the same time? According to David Brooks, there are two reasons why getting know people is important. Knowing other people is a moral act that helps us develop our character as individuals, and it’s also a social act that can help us reverse negative changes in the modern world. Let’s take a closer look at both of these ideas.
Do you feel like you don’t know the people around you very well? Do you want to know how to understand people better? While learning to know other people is crucial, David Brooks acknowledges that it takes a lot of time and effort to cultivate this skill. But he contends that anybody can learn to know others by mastering three skills. Let’s examine each of these skills in more detail so you can learn how to practice them.
Do you want to make people feel seen? How can you appear interested in what people are sharing with you? David Brooks explains that it’s crucial to interact with others in ways that show them you appreciate them and want to understand them. This involves several skills you can practice every day, such as being open to what people share with you. Here’s how Brooks recommends learning how to make someone feel seen.
Do you have someone in your life you want to make happy? Can you transfer your own energy to someone else? Energy doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Just as you’re energized by the people in your life, so too is the world affected by the energy you have to offer. Take a look at how to boost someone’s mood, just as others do to you.
Do you struggle to carry conversations? What types of skills do you need to enliven a discussion with someone? David Brooks says that you can have compelling, enriching conversations even with people you’re still getting to know. That’s especially true if you make a point of cultivating your conversational skills. Check out how to improve conversational skills so you can have rich discussions with people.
Do you want to have engaging conversations? How can you show people you’re interested in their stories? Once you’ve begun to cultivate the skills that help you make others feel understood, you need to engage fully with the stories that others tell you. These stories will most likely be about who someone is, where they’ve been, and where they want to go. Let’s explore three ways you can learn how to be more engaging in conversations.
Do you know how to ask good questions? What kind of questions should you ask people in everyday conversations? Conversations will hardly get anywhere without inquiries. The first step to engaging more deeply in someone’s story is to learn to ask good questions, specifically, insightful ones. Continue reading to learn about the art of asking questions in deep conversations.
Do want to know how to improve your social skills? Do you sometimes center the conversation back on yourself? As we practice learning to know others, we often have to work to counter some of our natural tendencies. These include the tendency to see things in a self-centered way, to be impatient rather than empathetic, or to shy away from the messy parts of others’ lives. Let’s take a look at how you can work on these tendencies by improving your social skills.
Do you catch yourself thinking only about you while someone else is talking? How can you steer the conversation back to the other person? We’re all at the center of our own worlds, and we naturally center ourselves in our thoughts and our conversations. David Brooks explains that by stepping back from your ego and how it wants you to see the world, you can make more room for other people. Keep reading to learn how to stop thinking about yourself during conversations.