Talk Forever: How to Never Run Out of Things to Say

About this video

Kegley teaches a single technique to avoid awkward silences and never run out of things to say: ‘jump-off points.’ He says most people wrongly view conversation as a single road with a start and finish, when it is really an arterial road with dozens of intersections. Every statement contains multiple words or ideas you can steer toward. He dissects the example ‘I don’t really like Seattle, it’s getting too crowded, I feel like all the tech workers are taking over’ into three jump-off points — Seattle, getting too crowded, and tech workers — each opening different questions about where they would live, whether they dislike crowds, or their own occupation. He works through more examples: someone in a sauna saying they are eating healthier, using less sugar and exercising more prompts questions about why they want to be healthier, sugar, exercise type and goals; a couple just back from a music festival in Austin prompts asking who ‘we’ is, what music, whether they had been before, or sharing an Austin story; and someone working at the local hospital but ready for a change prompts questions about the hospital, their role, why they want change, what they did before and what they studied. Kegley, who says he has done over 100 live interviews, dozens of speeches to 500 people and over 400 YouTube videos, closes by advising viewers to get genuinely curious about the other person and keep asking why.

Key takeaways

• Treat conversation as an arterial road with many intersections, not a single road with a start and finish.
• Listen for jump-off points: individual words or ideas in a statement you can steer the conversation toward.
• A statement like disliking crowded Seattle and its tech workers contains at least three separate topics to explore.
• Each reply creates new jump-off points, so the technique can sustain conversation indefinitely.
• When stuck, get curious about the other person and keep asking why.

Episode details: published November 16, 2016 · 6:03 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Clark Kegley’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

← Previous: 10 BEST IDEAS | Unlimited Power | Tony Robbins | Book Summary · Next: The ONLY 5 Communication Books You MUST Read →

All Clark Kegley videos · Clark Kegley profile · Clark Kegley on YouTube