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Surviving the Other’s stare | Theophile Lepage | TEDxSciencesPoCampusMenton


[Music]

have you ever spoken

to say nothing

this moment when you find yourself facing

your interlocutor that you do not

do not know a lot and you try

somehow fill the void

to avoid having to look at you

in the whites of the eyes

take an example of high school students you you

certainly remember all of his

first glasses that the end of the course

came rushing on the teacher

to ask for information

Additional

good I was part of his first

bezel but we pay attention by going

consult the teachers were not

time to deepen the short than the

persuade my interest in their

matter so that they appreciate me better

and gives me better grades

however when I was facing

the teacher and that he delivers a

passionate response to my classes

questions I could not manage

the ear

concerned about the image he would have

two months to focus on his

words I was staring at him trying

to appear the most interested

possible punctuating his huy speeches

and good ah but basically without good

understand what he meant and

this situation was unbearable

I was very embarrassed because I

wondering when he was going

finish his answer when he

was the most legitimate to leave if my

question he liked it I do it’s

less attention to those who said it

than the way he did not perceive

no content than form

I had the impression of being held in

this interaction by an invisible hand

and to have only to undergo forces

which I did not have

no take if I tell you this little

unpleasant episode not know for you

tell my life it’s just that I think

that this little example highlights a

huge vice that we all have and

against which I will try to

propose some solutions the embarrassment

I would like to emphasize how

I just described the embarrassment a vice

huge

more than an innocuous attitude it me

seems that embarrassment is a real

vis a deformity like a piece

badly assembled that would make the

more solid furniture embarrass us

often prevent us to act

miss opportunities and makes us

regret often

imagine for example that you are a

cocktail around a very person

influential and to whom you have some

very interesting thing and very

important to say you take your

courage in both hands

you head cheerfully towards

this person but at the last moment

when you are finally face to face

after you shake hands

you are no longer able to pronounce

a word the extraordinary project of which

you had him talk becomes a paw

of flabby arguments in which you

you drown the person frowns them

eyebrows politely apologizes and turns the

head towards another person she

see you go maybe you come from

lose an opportunity to give a new

momentum to your life only because

you were embarrassed embarrassing us

prevent from acting logically and

morally as they obstruct another

logic and our morale is like a

stone that comes to clog our

reasoning and returns us a state

animal that forbids us to act

in this respect to master the

social interactions can we

to benefit enormously in life

private as much as professional and we

prevent making serious mistakes

and that’s the mastery I want

to talk to you

the first question I would like

to ask yourself is the next where does it come from

this discomfort why are we sometimes

unable to master our

behavior think together

I think you will agree with

me on this point we are often very

uncomfortable when we talk to

a person we do not have

the habit of speaking

imagine for example that you do the

ride chin marseille in train which

lasts about four hours and you

you find your actress

favorite

what would you say to him

that you would talk to him about the last

elections or are you the

compliments on his latest film

a priori the logical solution would be

rather the second if you admire it in

somehow you would find it a pity to

find him talking to him about a subject

as commonplace as the last

elections

and as it is a person that you

know and who does not know you

you do not necessarily have something

very substantial to tell him as well

you would not talk to him as if

it was your friend so you are not

in a communication situation

authentic you want this

actress remembers you are you

so rather in a situation of

market

you give him compliments and you

wait for his blessing in return you

see this actress on screen as

an actress whom you appreciate face

to you as a ruthless judge in

this situation you draw roles

to each of the characters

you are the little passers-by and she is

the great celebrity in his book

the rites of interaction the sociologist

erving goffman gives the glue

interesting to these games of

personalities his thesis is that in this

kind of unequal interaction all the

world feels uncomfortable because everyone

try to fulfill his role best

possible

you fulfill your role of fans in

covering reader actor

compliments and she fulfills her role of

celebrities trying to be kind

and by thanking you repetitively

with an embarrassed smile

you live this situation as a

great oral while you are only

in a simple train trip and well

it’s exactly the same problem

with my high school teachers

we must speak at the beginning we do not

not interested in your content at all

only to form now

remember the question that I have you

posed at the beginning of this first point

why are we so uncomfortable

when we talk to people

that we may know may be

after this first point of reflection

are no longer able to answer them

we create a market situation

with the person because we are waiting

something of her

so we try to fill the role

what does the situation seem to

thus abandoning our ability to

improvise to joke and enjoy

here we are at the foot of the wall blocked in

our lyric impulses by this weight of

look at each other

and whenever we take it

consciousness we are very unhappy

but we are unable to get out of

this prison

yet deep down in our confinement I

see a little path lit almost

invisible and that leads to freedom

in this little way divide from

paths pursuing its goals and the

The search for happiness is 206

same place the communication

quiet

let’s not enter this little path and

take the first path the

pursuit of its goals

having a specific goal helps to be

much more comfortable why

simply because our mind is not

not cluttered by the look of the other

we think of one thing and we

do not have time to think about the rest

and all that happens around is that

bonus

example you are still in the

train with the other favorite actress

you still appreciate it as much as you

are in the same square family nothing

did not change except one thing

you are worried because you have big

professional worries

indeed you are the CEO to do my

hen

a chicken slaughter business and

you are on the verge of liquidation

Judicial because of a chicken ngo

who keeps campaigning against

you yet you are perfectly

at standards you chickens are high

in very sanitary conditions

scrupulously controlled and your

satisfied customers are stirring you

your mind on the way of you

disentangle from this situation

when all of you see yourself facing

you your favorite actress and

president of the ngo sos chicken sans

hesitate you tell him with a smile

you go to marseille she you

responds smiling no paris and you

tell him I stop at cannes for the

festival and so on

you know for a fact that after

two minutes of banal conversation you

go talk about chicken and so

very serious but your goal is

very clear and very important you

want to keep your job is your

position so you never lose it

of view and you do everything for

reach it

so your speech is not lost you

do not win because you are not looking

to impress the person who is in

face of you are simply looking for a

started the conversation quietly

and so you are perfectly master

of the interaction you are too

concerned about your purpose for you

let submit by the determinisms

which we were talking about erding hoffman in

the rites of interaction here there is

more roles more form than the

contents

you want to continue selling

chickens and your admiration for

the actress fades for the benefit of your

goal

work

let’s go back and try to

make a tea the second shipyard the

pursuit of happiness seeking to be

happy allows you to make the most of

a situation

what I mean here is when

even if we have no specific goal

we must forget all the roles that we

play in the interaction and let yourself

guide by what we want here is the

path that leads to freedom

to authentically interact with

still our example of the actress in

the train you are reading

your book quietly to your

place when she comes to sit in front

from you at first you go

absolutely want to talk to him for

take the opportunity to be

recognized but the best solution

would rather talk to him if you

have something interesting to him

say and continue reading your book

if you have nothing interesting to

to tell him that sounds like an outrageous

evidence yes but not necessarily

we all want to mark the stroke of

look smart to let go of our

daily activities to surf in

the exceptional eh well in my opinion the

more important is to reason well and

to tell yourself in which situation

am I going to be the happiest or the most

happy talking with this actress

or by continuing to read my book

this ability to judge and the best

guides to a mastery of

the interaction we are no longer subject

to the forces that gives the actress a

dominant role and to us a role of

fans

we are just reading

a book with the possibility if the

heart tells you to discuss with our

interesting neighbor opposite to this

regard the philosopher andre gide will be

much clearer than me in his

masterpiece terrestrial foods

manual of pleasant life whose

chorus and loose this book and forget me

he says I quote every

we leave her companion of pleasure to

that you know you had to do it

I do not like those who make themselves

deserves to have a real pain because

if it was painful

he would have done better to do other

thing the joy that we find there and sign

of the appropriation of work and the

sincerity of my pleasure but the most

important guides 26 tation you

can

blame me for something something

important

you can tell me yes but I do not

not arrive to enjoy perfectly

of a situation if I’m facing my

favorite actor I will inevitably

want to talk to him and if I do not

force me not to do it I’m going

to be frustrated I could not do anything

else but at the same time if I him

speak I’m going to be terribly bad at

comfortable so all this reasoning does not serve

for nothing I’m stuck is coming

probably from this reasoning only serves

nothing if we add an element

essential self-confidence

our essential problem when we

let’s talk to a person is that we

let’s do it smart imagine meeting a

great university professor that one

admire and let’s talk about it

language and praising it to the professor

jean etienne perrigault of marquinho

I admire your thesis on the

psychopathology of the great powers

Besides, I think that Russia

has acute schizophrenia on

the plan of 6 military dynamics and

that’s what we do there is that

we are trying to win the

recognition of the person to whom

we speak by adapting to his

language that we do not master yet

not but like this language and the point

that we attract to this professor

we try to reproduce it because we

think it’s his criterion for

judge the worth of a person

nobody likes only the others

do as if on the contrary we like

shine by its originality and be

surprised by behaviors

different

therefore self-confidence does not

does not mean sandra it’s in the ice

self-confidence is not having

afraid of what we have to say and say it

speak with his words at the risk of

sound ridiculous which is a little

that’s not the way we

expresses itself but the assurance with which

we express ourselves and so we create a

new standard

I speak like that and it’s normal

because it’s me and even if we are

very special very marginal or very

shy

if we pronounce our three words

daily focusing on our

thought and not about our way of

express it then these three words will be

necessarily percussive and that because

that everyone has the right to be

credible it is believed that some

people are more convincing than

others but it’s wrong

each at his hour of eloquence and his

time of silence even people

we see struggling on a platform

with the sensation of changing the world does not

may have nothing to say in an opinion

in actor in the train a big

economics professor can be

embarrassed when asked the

pancake recipe the sincerity we

lets showing that we are

imperfect like everyone

to draw a land of z agreement

with our interlocutor – we look

perfect and it sounds audible and

this is the last stairs that

lead to the freedom to communicate

authentically self-confidence

know how to hoist up a tower of

serenity from which you foment and the

look of your detractors know how to think

what you say

forgetting how you say it I

much talked about but what did I

tried to tell you

I wanted to illustrate these handicaps

embarrassment and show you that in

more than just a nuisance

it’s a real handicap

thing that holds us back who we

prevent acting

but if I speak to you today

it’s good that I am firmly

convinced that this handicap can be canceled

by a simple reversal of mind I

think to be comfortable in a

situation one thing is

necessary to strive to profit by

looking back

interest or happiness that we can

to draw from a situation one forgets one’s

malaise and we focus on what

interests us

and it is by being interested that we

becomes interesting so let’s remember this

for all the times we

will feel uncomfortable instead of

hang on to the words do we hang your

thoughts instead of picking a speech

instead of ripening a speech that lyon

whoever comes I thank you

[Applause]

”

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