By Riaz Meghi
Reviewed by Glain Roberts-McCabe
The Premise: Every conversation is an opportunity to build human connection. In Every Conversation Counts, broadcaster-turned-author Riaz Meghi shares his five habits of human connection to help you build extraordinary relationships. Drawing on his experience as an entertainment reporter and television host, Meghi brings his firsthand accounts on how to create connection, quickly and with ease. The book is broken down into three key parts: the effects of the global pandemic, the five habits of human connection and where the future is going.
Meghi opens with a deep dive into what he terms “the social pandemic”: how loneliness is becoming the fastest “disease” in our world. With this set up, the five habits unfold as a way for each of us to create more meaningful connection. The habits explore the cornerstone principles of relationship building from listening without distraction to empathy and putting others at the centre of your attention. Written in an easy-to-read, engaging style, Every Conversation Counts is full of simple strategies that anyone can put into immediate practice.
The Bottom Line: This is a solid book filled with some simple, but highly effective, strategies to build more meaningful connections with others. The timeliness of this release has probably made it even more relevant as we all continue to feel the effects of isolation as a result of Covid. Never has the need for social connection become more screamingly obvious than over the past year and Meghi taps into that gap directly.
Of the five habits, there’s no doubt every reader will find one that they need to pay attention to a little more fully. Personally, I connected with the chapter Make Your Small Talk Bigger. I simply hear the word small talk and a part of my brain shuts down. The chapter covers embracing curiosity and ways to encourage it with yourself, your partner, your team and your kids. I realized places where my own curiosity runs high and other places where I’m quick to run to solutions or shut down conversations. Meghi includes some great questions in that chapter. My favourite being: what’s the most important conversation you’ve had in your life? I’m still thinking about my answer to that one. What’s yours?
Recommendation: Recommended for anyone interested in upping their connection game and building deep relationships.
