Brave the big talk

Brave the big talk

Written by Sara Hope

Today, on #TimeToTalkDay, we’re being asked to ‘brave the big talk’ not just for ourselves, but for each other.

When we wrote our book, ‘Conversational Wisdom’, Emily and I didn’t purely want to focus on workplace conversations. We wanted to examine the power and opportunity that comes from our everyday chats with those around us; family, friends, colleagues, strangers.

And it took us on a journey to better understand, why something that sounds simple – becoming more skilled in having conversations – can be so hard to do.

Our early childhood experiences, within the families and society in which we grow up, inform how we converse with other people. As children, none of us have choice in the upbringing and the conversational privileges, or not, that we are given. We might not have the opportunity to sit at a table and talk over a meal or have adults around us, at home or school, who are available and able to listen to what we want to say.

#TimetoTalk Day is the nation’s biggest mental health conversation, and I like how the word ‘brave’ has been woven in. Because it can feel difficult, risky, and scary when we can’t fix or just make things better.

And these difficult conversations can crop up when you least expect them; when you can’t plan, have a script, or know the answer. But what we can do is talk, and we can listen.

I love the ideas that Mind has shared to get involved:

📱- Text a friend to ask how they’re doing
🍽️- Host a lunch and learn session in your workplace
🚶‍♀️- Go for a walk and talk with a neighbour

I’m about to close the laptop, and go and join a friend for a mug of tea (although I wish we were back in Kinsale, doing a walk and talk in the sunshine by the sea 🌊)

Let’s make #TimeToTalkDay more than a moment. Let’s make it a movement towards more honest, brave, and human conversations.

Get in touch to have a chat about how we can help your people develop their conversational wisdom