Too often are we so busy trying to get our point across, or appear important or knowledgeable, that we are completely oblivious or disinterested in other points of view. By not listening, we remain uneducated as we can’t learn anything new. Some of the biggest failures in history came from not listening and some of our biggest personal failures come from not listening, to both ourselves, and others.

Author and former international aid worker, Ernesto Sirolli shares a thought provoking, humorous, and deeply insightful Ted talk on the blundering failures that come from not listening. He draws inspiration from his time in Africa as an aid worker, where he saw first hand the destructive effects of colonial arrogant imposition on the local people.

A reminder on the importance of stopping the urge to talk, and learning to just listen.