Celeste Headlee

Enter every conversation assuming you have something to learn.

Celeste Headlee’s Having Better Conversations presentation focuses on the science-based fundamentals of communication and includes thought-provoking topics like the smarter you are the worse you are at communicating. This highly motivational talk, with 10 practical lessons, is designed to inspire self- confidence and introduces strategies for enhancing personal and professional relationships by simply becoming better at having conversations.

Celeste’s workshop offers concrete actions to improve attendees’ conversational skills and to broaden their view of what constitutes a good (and civil) conversation. Having a conversation is like playing a game of catch. Communication has increased in our technological age, but meaningful conversation has plummeted. If a conversation is one-sided, the ball drops. When your job hinges on how well you talk to people, you learn a lot about how to have conversations – and that most of us don’t converse very well. Celeste knows the ingredients of a great conversation; honesty, brevity, clarity and a healthy amount of listening. She argues that listening is the true power of what separates those of us who can gain a competitive advantage in whatever it is we are trying to achieve. Knowing what conversational tool should be used (and when) is critical to cultivating relationships.

Breaking away from overworking, overdoing, and underliving

Celeste Headlee’s Do Nothing examines the cult of productivity addressing long-held assumptions about time use, idleness, hard work and habits that are ultimately doing us harm, providing tangible to reverse the trend that’s making us all sadder, sicker and less productive, to return to a way of life that allows us to thrive.

In her Do Nothing focused workshop(s) tailored to meet a company’s specific structure (fully in office workforce, fully remote workforce, combination of the two), Celeste addresses topics including:

• Burnout – what it is, how to recognize it, actionable ways to avoid it
• Work/Life Balance
• Productivity – including the myths about it and ways to TRULY be more productive

Using AI with intention and care to embrace the benefits without eroding critical human connection

AI has the potential to dramatically change the way we communicate, for better and worse. That means we all must use AI in an intentional way, to make use of the benefits without allowing it to negatively impact our connections.

Celeste notes the benefits include:

• One of the biggest benefits in AI communication is in breaking the language barrier, allowing those who do not speak each other’s language to communicate in an authentic way.
• AI software can also be designed to inject more positive language into any conversation, making the humans who communicate with a bot feel more upbeat.
• It can also increase the speed of communication, which can be crucial in emergency situations, but also benefits organizations who rely heavily on customer service.

The downsides:

• Research shows when someone suspects their conversational partner is using AI to respond, they’re more likely to perceive them as less cooperative and feel less of a connection to them.
• AI bots don’t have the same emotional intelligence that humans have, so they can’t understand human emotions, sarcasm, or emotional needs.
• People report feeling that their conversations with AI chatbots feel transactional and devoid of empathy. In other words, AI partners can be nice, but not kind.

Celeste offers deeply researched details for how to use these tools with intention and care to ensure they don’t erode the human connection that is crucial to well-being.

Create an effective hybrid work culture that supports teamwork and collaboration

Many workers want to work from home when they can, and that’s healthy. Research shows that a hybrid schedule, where workers come into the office 1-2 days a week results in the highest levels of productivity and well-being. But maintaining healthy communication and collaboration in this new environment requires some adjustments to the way we work.

Celeste offers key insights and research about this new way of working and teaches new skills and techniques that help support teamwork even when some members of the team are remote or working in other areas of the world.

Building an environment of belonging

Belonging is the most important need that humans have after food, shelter, and water. When we talk about inclusion, we really talking about creating a work environment where people feel they belong.

Learning to do this can be one of the most powerful methods for repairing morale and creating a healthy, collaborative culture.

Celeste offers key research about belonging and actionable takeaway and practice for both leaders and individual contributors to improve inclusion and increase belonging for all members of the team.

Building a work environment that boosts focus, creativity and innovation

Research shows that most workers never have uninterrupted time to focus on their work. Economic studies prove that there is an economic opportunity to encourage deep focus that’s worth $1.4 trillion in the US alone. With a few small changes, leaders can create an environment that allows workers to spend some of their day focusing on their work, thereby increasing the likelihood of creative problem-solving and innovation. It also boosts morale and reduces turnover.

Celeste offers research-backed insights and actionable takeaway for creating the space and environment needed to improve focus, creativity and innovation from all members of the team.

Reducing wasted time and profit through fewer, more effective and efficient meetings

Manager spent less than 10% of their time in meetings in the 1960s. Now, the average leader spends more than half their time in meetings. 71% said meetings are unproductive and inefficient. 64% said meetings come at the expense of deep thinking. Unnecessary meetings waste $25 million a day in the US.

Celeste offers guidance for how to hold fewer meetings and actionable takeaway for making the ones you do hold more impactful, effective and efficient.

Navigating the recent/current events radically changing an already fast-evolving work landscape

Melding insights from both We Need to Talk and Do Nothing, team culture workshop(s) are tailored to meet a company’s specific structure (fully in office workforce, fully remote workforce, combination of the two), Celeste addresses topics including:

• Work from home stress – how work stress actually increases in a work from home scenario noting studies that reveal going into an office can provide employees with stress relief and the importance in any transition to a work from home structure to address the increased chances for burnout
• How to communicate remotely and maintain morale and team cohesion – i.e., transactivity
• How to remain productive despite the distractions of home – accountability of team members, etc.
• How to give feedback to remote workers in a constructive way, how often to check in
• Scheduling your workday to increase productivity
• Small changes that have big impacts when it comes to creative problem solving and streamlining processes
• How to structure a conference call to keep them short and effective

Learning about racism doesn’t mean you know how to talk about it

Building upon current research and insights/research from projects including We Need to Talk and Speaking of Race, Celeste offers a timely, critical look at race relations and racism on the job. As workers overwhelmingly say management doesn’t listen or doesn’t care about issues of diversity, Celeste addresses and identifies the communication problems that are often to blame offering a practical approach with actionable strategies to help conversations about race be productive while avoiding argument or escalation.