Episode 13: June 25, 2019
Chad Littlefield: Start with Intention for Conversations That Matter
Listen Now!
Episode 13: June 25, 2019
Chad Littlefield: Start with Intention for Conversations That Matter
Listen Now!
Episode Overview
This episode features guest Chad Littlefield, the co-founder and Chief Experience Officer of We and Me, Inc., where he’s on a mission to create conversations that matter. Forbes has called him a global expert on asking questions that build connection and trust in teams. Most recently, Chad and his business partner Will Wise launched their new book Ask Powerful Questions: Create Conversations That Matter.
In his interview, get to know a few things about Chad including how his passion for connecting people started as a kid, watching Robin Williams. Chad clues us in on the keys to asking powerful questions, talks about the true (and Latin) meaning of intention, and how Chad views intention as the foundation for all powerful conversations. Find out what it takes to strike up a conversation with somebody on a bus or a plane, and importantly, learn how not to feel uncomfortable afterward. (Hint, it all starts with intention!) This episode’s full of practical tips that will help you get connecting right away.
What we cover:
- Taking positive social risks (and sometimes failing)
- Stepping out of your comfort zone in order to connect
- “Silence is one of the greatest arts of conversation.” — Cicero
- Chad’s mission to gently eradicate small talk
- Intention as the foundation for building relationships of trust and connection
- Why Chad feels like he “re-met” his mother and grandmother for the first time by asking powerful questions
- Intention’s Latin root — to stretch
- Asking questions about what someone’s wearing, carrying, or sharing
- How empathy is really stepping into one of somebody else’s shoes
- The Ask Powerful Questions pyramid: intention, rapport, openness, listening, & empathy
- Using “How” and “What” question starters instead of “Why”
- How one word can shift an intention, a conversation, your relationships, a culture, the world
- How Chad came up with all of the questions in the deck of We! Connect Cards
- And more!
Connection is our natural instinct, and asking powerful questions is within our natural curiosity. Get curious and get connecting after this interview with Chad Littlefield. For more tools you can start using right away to connect, visit WeAnd.Me to get Chad’s Connection Toolkit, books, conversation cards, and more!
Social Wellness Challenge
Turn on your natural, genuine curiosity!
On average, kids between the ages of two and five ask 300 to 400 questions per day. In contrast, adults ask between six and twelve questions a day. Where did our curiosity go?
So, try doubling it. See what happens if you just double the number of questions you ask. And if you want to double it again the next week, go for it. One trick to do that is to commit to responding to others with a sentence that ends in a question mark, not a period.
Links
Chad’s TEDx Talk — “Positive Social Risks!”
Chad & Will’s co-authored book — Ask Powerful Questions: Create Conversations That Matter
Ask Powerful Questions pyramid
Chad’s business partner, Will Wise
Simon Sinek’s book, Start with Why & TEDx Talk, “How great leaders inspire action”
Patch Adams, movie starring Robin Williams
Brené Brown’s definition of connection : “I define connection as the energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued. When they can give and receive without judgment, and when they derive sustenance and strength from the relationship.”
Stanford’s d.school for design thinking
This Week’s Guest
Chad Littlefield
Chad Littlefield, or as he might say, “Smallyard”, is the Co-founder and Chief Experience Officer of We and Me, Inc. — where he’s on a mission to create conversations that matter. When people want to amplify connection, belonging, and trust in their organization, they call Chad. Forbes calls him a “global expert on asking questions that build trust and connection in teams.”
He gave a popular TEDx talk on taking positive social risks, he wrote the Pocket Guide to Facilitating Human Connections, and created We! Connect Cards™, that are starting conversations in over 80 countries around the world. Most recently, Chad and his partner Will Wise launched their new book, Ask Powerful Questions: Create Conversations that Matter.
Having somebody who’s willing to know you, and being seen, and being heard, and feeling understood, and having somebody who’s truly with you. Somebody or multiple people who are truly with you. I think that if you’ve got that, there’s an immense amount of social health that shows up there.
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Fulfilling relationships are scientifically proven to keep you happy and healthy — boosting your immunity and longevity. When you prioritize the people that matter most, even when life gets full, you naturally show up better for them and yourself. We started Wellness 3.0 to bring awareness to this phenomenon and discover how we can improve social health and build better social habits, together.
