How to Magically Connect with Anyone
Lakeshore Technical College
Date: Friday Oct 28, 2022
Time: 10:40a CT
About Brian, The Connection Magician
Program Description
Everyone wants to feel heard, understood, and valued. Sure, we live in a divisive age- but the real problem is that we treat interactions as transactions. Yet when we feel truly seen by our fellow students, faculty, and staff, we become deeply connected with ourselves, our communities, and our purpose.
That’s why to build connected campus cultures and become truly exceptional leaders, we need to learn and understand perspectives that are different from our own. And in this high-energy, interactive presentation, you’ll learn precisely how to do it, on and offline.
Brian delivers powerful, engaging, and captivating presentations about the value of human connection. He uses jaw-dropping magic, audience interaction, and laugh-out-loud stories from 16 years of traveling the world.
Combine that with actionable takeaways about human connection, kindness, generosity, and the value of getting out of one’s comfort zone, and you’ve got a smash hit that colleges across America have called “Perfect,” “Brilliant,” and “the best speaker we’ve ever had.”
Hi, I’m Brian Miller.
Human Connection Specialist
I work with organizations, educators, and healthcare facilities who want to build an environment where everyone feels heard, understood, and valued. The desire for human connection is universal, and more crucial now than ever.
I’ve spoken and consulted across five continents. My TEDx talk “How to Magically Connect with Anyone” has been viewed over 3 million times worldwide. Publishers Weekly raved about my first book Three New People, “A cheery, instructive debut… Miller brilliantly outlines a system for deepening relationships.”
And my podcast Beyond Networking features intimate conversations with legends and leaders of industries, including Seth Godin, Shama Hyder, Julian Treasure, and Zoe Chance.
Time to Reclaim Human Dignity
This week’s blog is an exploration of the indignity so many people feel when dealing with the “system” these days, whether it’s healthcare, banking, or politics.
Nearly every organization and industry is desperately trying to push humanity out of the equation. But mark my words, the only organizations who will survive the wave of disruption are those who double-down on human connection. Who build a culture of belonging. Who make it a daily practice to say “I hear you, I see you, and I’m here for you – even if we don’t always agree.”
The human connection revolution is upon us. Don’t just join it — lead it.
The Value of Conversational Safety Nets
This week’s blog is an excerpt from my book Three New People.
When we hear about the comfort zone, what are we always told to do?
Get out of it!
We are always told to get out of our comfort zones. It makes the Comfort Zone sound like an awful, terrifying place. It must be, otherwise we wouldn’t constantly be told to leave.
And yet, no one ever tells us what it is. No one ever really defines it.
The Beautiful Gift I Received At A Red Light
As Nicholas Epley once said, “Hardly anybody waves. But everyone waves back.” It doesn’t take much. If a friendly greeting from a stranger and a 60-second conversation at a red light made me feel right at home in a totally new environment, it really shouldn’t be so hard to create cultures of connection at work, at school, and in our communities.
How To Know What You Stand For
Discover how Iván Fernández Anaya’s integrity in a race teaches us about the importance of knowing our values and beliefs. Learn practical questions to uncover your core principles and build authentic connections.
“Make Me Feel Important.”
This week I don’t have a blog for you, I just have a link. It’s Simon Cowell’s 2-hour long interview on popular podcast The Diary of a CEO, hosted by Steven Bartlett. There are dozens of treasures to be found in this deep, emotional, and extensive interview. But right around the 8:20 mark, Simon shares a piece of advice his father gave him when he was just 12 years old: “It was quite an odd thing to say to a 12-year-old. He said, “Everyone in life, Simon, has a sign on their head, and it says, “Make me feel important.””
A Powerful Lesson from Cooking Airplane Chicken
A simple misunderstanding with my 3-year-old illustrates how easily communication can go awry. This blog explores the importance of clear communication in avoiding conflicts and fostering better connections, using a relatable family anecdote to highlight the lesson.