Evan CarmichaelSpeaker / Author / Introvert

How to Outsmart Judgmental People | Build a Fearless Curious Mind

24 Jul 2023 · 1 min

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A speaker reflects on being underestimated his whole life and discovers the answer in a Walt Whitman quote: "Be curious, not judgmental." He explains how asking simple questions like "Have you played a lot of darts, Ted?" opens doors that judgment closes, using a story about Rupert and Ted to show how curiosity changes everything.

Chapters

What do I need to win? Two triple 20s and a bullseye. Good luck. You know, Rupert, guys have underestimated me my entire life, and for years I never understood why. It used to really bother me. But then one day I was driving my little boy to school and I saw this quote by Walt Whitman. It was painted on the wall there. It said, "Be curious, not judgmental." I like that. So I get back in my car and I'm driving to work, and all of a sudden it hits me. All them fellas that used to belittle me Not a single one of them were curious. You know, they thought they had everything all figured out, so they judged everything and they judged everyone. And I realized that their underestimating me, who I was, had nothing to do with it. Because if they were curious, they would ask questions. Questions like, "Have you played a lot of darts, Ted?" Which I would have answered, "Yes, sir."