My Speaking Lesson From Chatting With Laurie Anderson

I promise you. I didn’t have a fangirl meltdown while I chatted with the great Laurie Anderson*.  But I did get a great speaking lesson. After her talkback yesterday at the Museum Of Natural History, she and I talked about Einstein’s frustration that some of his theories weren’t beautiful. During the talk, she and the moderator discussed how Einstein ought not to have needed to have his theories be beautiful.

Afterward, she graciously stayed around to meet us. I mentioned that he possibly wanted his theories to be more elegant and that’s why he’d been frustrated.

“I don’t see why he’d need that,” she said. “You don’t need theories to be pretty to be solid.” I realized that, to her, “elegant,” meant pretty like with makeup on.

(And that wasn’t what I meant at all. Elegant can mean luxurious and fine, [and yes, pretty]. But when you talk about scientific, technical, or mathematical theories, solutions, etc., it means “gracefully concise and simple; admirably succinct.”)

I realized the miscommunication and clarified what I’d meant.

“Ah,” she said. “Now that makes a lot more sense.”

Whew! I got Einstein off the hook. ?

And the Speaking Lesson Is …

That’s my long-winded way of saying choose your words wisely in your interactions. If you’re not getting the response you want, check in and make sure they’re “pickin’ up what you’re puttin’ down.”

That goes double for meetings and interviews. When I work with my coaching clients to help them get the interview or land the job, we spend time on the language they’ll use when they speak and write.

I haven’t opened my life and career coaching practice to new clients for a while. But it might be happening soon. If you have interviews or job prep coming up (or you know someone who does), and you want to improve your odds, get in touch. Let’s talk about how I can help.

xox
Z

*OK, I did but not until afterward. ?