14 Jun

Posted at 03:42h in Mountains, Talk 2 More People Movement

Talk2MorePeople has gifted me with many things to reflect upon. And this time something quite literally! Here is how I came to be wearing a suit of mirrors last week. It was because I met Olga Sem at an event 2 years ago that was organized by Jeff Wilkie. I had recently met Jeff at a party and we decided to work on an event together. In fact, through a series of other connections, the party that I was at was because of a random connection 4 years ago.

Conversations lead to good things…

When you take a moment to reflect on how some of the people and life experiences have come to you, you will realize that many of them came from a random conversation. Do you ever stop to think,

“What conversations have shaped your life?”

You can never know when someone new could have a positive influence on your life, so why not be open to meeting new people?

 

Tony Esteves is a Calgary based workshop facilitator and performer. He delivers play-based trainings to improve communication skills, focus and resiliency. He has delivered workshops on 3 continents and speaks four languages. His passion for facilitation is matched only by his passion for travel and performing. You can see his characters on stage with Le Cirque de la Nuit across North America. 

In his free time, Tony can be found scrambling in the Rockies or striking up a good conversation with a complete stranger. 

 

31 Mar

Posted at 04:51h in Blog, Talk 2 More People Movement, Talk2MorePeople Canadian Tour

Did you know that you can camp for free in New Brunswick? You can at this one magical private place called, Shire Camping. The owners of this land kindly converted it into a mini campground and welcome people to camp there for free. It works on a first come, first served basis. My parter, Renee learned about this through a random conversation with a stranger while she was on the road on her own.

How amazing is that? Locals know best.

That chance conversation with a stranger decided where we spent the night. It was great. 

In October 2017, New Brunswick provided fantastic hospitality, great conversations and stunning scenery. I didn’t know that the Bay of Fundy had the highest tidal range in the world and when it comes in, it comes in fast! Watching the water creeping aggressively towards us was a little frightening and amazing.

We learned from some people who we met in the capital Fredrickton, that New Brunswick is often considered a province to just drive through on the way to the Maritimes. But we were fortunate enough to explore several nights there and were rewarded for it.

 

Chance conversations with the people who you meet on the road constantly have the ability to change and improve your experience.

This happens all the time when traveling. It just makes sense that a local would be happy to share wisdom with travellers about their homeland. No matter how advanced and up to date the internet becomes, there will never be a replacement for talking to a person from that place to get your information and make your plans. 

So why not ask a local?

By going out of your way to connect with locals when you travel you will improve your travel experience, and also give a gift to the people who you speak with. By sharing some of your own story with them and by taking some time to listen to them, they get a chance to be heard and to effectively teach you something. This oral tradition and information exchange is satisfying because it is an essential part of who we are as people. It is how we express ourselves and exchange information. This is how it always was before we all got lost online. 

So please do consider reaching out to the locals when you are on your next travel adventure. You will likely find the best restaurants, secret places to visit, and unknown tourist destinations. These gems are yours for the picking if you just dare talk to a stranger.

The chance conversations in New Brunswick were part of the Talk2MorePeople Canadian Tour. This was a cross-Canada road trip to speak to a cross section of Canadians and to find out what matters to Canadians today. 

Tony Esteves is a communication facilitator, entrepreneur and conversationalist who brings play back into the workplace. He is an author and a performer with Le Cirque de la Nuit – a Calgary based circus. Tony has recently concluded his Talk2MorePeople Canadian Tour. This project aims to illustrate and prove the value of meeting new people through face-to-face conversations. Here is an article from CBC Radio about the initial Talk2MorePeople Project. This was a full year of meeting strangers daily.

Connect with Tony for a meaningful face-to-face conversation and pick up your free “6 Tools to Making New Connections” at Talk2MorePeople.com

www.Facebook.com/talk2morepeople

 

05 Nov

Posted at 17:51h in Talk 2 More People Movement, Talk2MorePeople Canadian Tour

What to do when you flip your canoeDriving across Canada with the pursuit of random conversations with strangers does not happen without it’s challenges. There is an amazing organization called, HelpX where people can offer their help to others in exchange for free room and board. The jobs can range from anything that you might do on a farm, to construction projects, to any number of other activities. And you can stay with your host for as few as a couple of days, or as long as several months or sometimes even years. 

We decided to participate on a farm in Magnetawan, Ontario. Our responsibilities included moving some firewood, moving some lumber and general cleaning up. We would typically work about 4 hours each day, have meals and conversations.

So one afternoon, Renee and I decided to get out on the canoe. The late October weather was beautiful and we were up for some adventure.

And we found it. Check out the video below to see what happened.


After the flip, a Google search brought me to this article that I found both useful and entertaining. The artwork below is by Ian Tendy and here’s the LINK to “How to Right a Flipped Canoe Properly.”

Enjoy!

And here is one more useful resource on how to flip your canoe as well.

Tony Esteves is a communication facilitator, entrepreneur and conversationalist who brings play back into the workplace. He is a published author and a performer with Le Cirque de la Nuit – a Calgary based circus. Tony has recently concluded his Talk2MorePeople Canadian Tour. This project aims to illustrate and prove the value of meeting new people through face-to-face conversations. Here is an article from CBC Radio about the project:

Connect with Tony for a meaningful face-to-face conversation and pick up your free “6 Tools to Making New Connections” at Talk2MorePeople.com

21 Oct

Posted at 17:52h in Blog, Talk 2 More People Movement, Talk2MorePeople Canadian Tour

This October, I had the very good fortune to visit Nova Scotia for 8 days. While I had been to Halifax before, I had never seen anything else outside of Halifax.

I’m so lucky to have explored this time.

In part, I was seeking conversations with random strangers as part of the Talk2MorePeople Canadian Tour – a journey of conversations to find out,

“What is important to you as a Canadian today?”

The first couple of days were spent visiting the Devine’s – cousins of mine on my mother’s side and they treated us very well. We spent those nights at an AirBnB in the beautiful countryside outside of Windsor. I was travelling with my very dear friend, Renee.

Once in Digby on the west coast, we received a great deal of information from the owner of this adorable bakery and cafe. Among other things, he suggested that we visit a beautiful long beach that was on the way to Yarmouth. I was impressed with just how much information this man had to share with us and grateful to learn about the beach.

We were very impressed. The beach at Mavillette was even more beautiful than he had promised. On that day we were hearing that it had been snowing in Calgary, we dipped our feet into the ocean and it was beautiful.

The tips and suggestions that you can get from speaking to the locals are often the most wonderful.

I’ll take a human conversation over a Google search for travel information any day of the week.

Once in Yarmouth, we were approached by a gentleman in his late 50’s while at a Tim Horton’s. As he seemed keen to chat, I asked him, “What is important to you as a Canadian today?”

He sat down to join us and stated immediately, “I’ll let you know that I am a right wing conservative.” Leonard then explained his views on how he has a problem with our current and last federal governments. He spoke to us for over 15 minutes on his political perspectives and about the things that he sees as wrong with Canadian politics. He added at the end that he would have a better chance of remembering us if we had offered him $100 at the beginning of the conversation. And then asked, what that meant? I offered, “Well it seems that you value money highly so that will stand out for you.”

This somewhat intense discussion was not was I was expecting in The Tim Hortons on Main Street in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia and I was genuinely thankful for it. After our discussion, Lenorad asked for my thoughts. I told him, “I greatly appreciate you sharing your strong views with us. Because I really do want to capture a broad perspective of what’s important to Canadians today and you’ve given me your take on that.”

I chose not to offer my opinion on his opinions.

Shortly after, we headed off and we found our campsite for the night.

The following day we enjoyed a visit with George Claimont. George is a friend of mine from Calgary who is a talented writer and improviser. We met as his childhood home and farm and he kindly gave us a tour. George had just gotten out of the hospital so I was thrilled that he was open to having us visit him. In fact, it is because George was down in Yarmouth that we went south to see him. And this was such a wonderful part of our trip. Even though our re-connection was brief the mutual respect was there.

When you are going somewhere where you have connections, get in touch. Those old friends will be very happy to hear from you.

It really was awesome to see George.

We were blessed with another family visit with my cousin Denis just outside of Halifax that evening. There I got crushed at Ping-Pong by his talented son and we took comfort in their warm home. With all of us originally from Ontario, we discussed the benefits of living in this part of Canada. You can get quite a bit more land out here for your investment than many other parts of the country. The people are extremely friendly and it seems that life is much less hectic here. I can imagine that this would be a wonderful place to raise a family.

From there we popped in on Ed Campbell in Dartmouth who I worked with in Kananaskis, Alberta 16 years ago. We had a great catch up as well before heading up to Cape Breton Island and the Cabot Trail.

I had heard that it was beautiful up there but could not prepare my eyes for the treat that they were about to receive. Apparently our timing was great as we happened to arrive just before the “Celtic Colours” festival which is a music festival that takes place all over the island. It is also timed with the leaves that are typically changing this time of year. While the leaves were changing late this year they were still spectacular. On this visit to Cape Breton Island we camped just south of the national park as well as in Meat Cove – Nova Scotia’s most northern community. We had been advised to get off the famous Cabot Trail to visit there by many people so we decided to do so.  Again, we were not disappointed.

Getting off the beaten path almost always has it’s benefits.

We landed at what was likely the most beautiful campground I’ve ever seen. And with our luck there was a full harvest moon that evening. Jamie who was working the campground office (also overlooking the ocean) provided abundant information for us and we settled in.

Charlie approached us the next morning on the beach in Inverness. We had slept by the ocean and chose to have breakfast on this beautiful beach.

He was keen to show us some sea glass that he had collected and went into some fascinating stories about Inverness, the history here and all sorts of things. He told us about the mine that used to be 15 miles out to sea and how children worked there back in the day. He talked about how the golf course behind us also used to be set up for coal mining and that there was some of the best coal in Cape Breton Island here.

He told us about ghosts on the sea and had us entertained for our entire conversation.

Charlie had the characteristics of many of the people who we have met in Nova Scotia: friendly; talkative; full of stories and holding a wonderful enthusiasm for life.

When I asked him what is important to him as a Canadian today, this is what he told me,

“All of this!” (as he gestured to the natural beauty that we were surrounded by) He expressed gratitude for living in this part of Canada and for being able to eat every day.

I found it very interesting how two of the men who I had met in the same province who were a similar age had such different priorities and perspectives.

Hearing all of these as well as other stories from the people who we met along the way was a very welcome compliment to the trip.  Nova Scotia is a very special part of Canada that I look forward to exploring further again one day.

So when you create some time to explore Canada’s beautiful Maritime provinces, be sure to give yourself time to explore Nova Scotia.

What’s the point of this Talk2MorePeople Canadian Tour? It’s an opportunity for me to capture a snapshot of perspectives about what is important to Canadians who I meet along the way. My intention is to document a number of stories on this blog and to capture some interviews for the Talk2MorePeople Podcast.

Each of the people who I engage in conversation with are given this card. It is a 30 Day Challenge to meet a new stranger a day for a month. I learned from my own experience of doing this daily for a full year that truly amazing things can and do happen when you reach out to strangers through face to face conversations.

Go on, give it a go…

Talk To More People 30 Day Challenge Talk2MorePeople 30 Day Challenge How to meet strangers

This challenge could change your life.

Tony Esteves is an international speaker, MC, facilitator and performer who brings play back into the workplace. He is a published author and a performer with Le Cirque de la Nuit – a Calgary based circus. Tony has recently concluded his 1 year social experiment called, Talk2MorePeople. This project aims to illustrate and prove the value of meeting new people through face-to-face conversations. Here is an article from CBC Radio about the project. 

If you are interested in supporting Talk2MorePeople you can do so by making a contribution on this Patreon Account.

Connect with Tony for a meaningful face-to-face conversation.

Facebook.com/talk2morepeople

Talk2MorePeople.com

06 Oct

Posted at 16:00h in Talk 2 More People Movement, Talk2MorePeople Canadian Tour

The Talk2MorePeople Canadian Tour began before it began. On the flight from Calgary to Toronto, I met Jess who I greatly enjoyed speaking with for about an hour before we both passed on on the early flight.

This was such a gift to me because at the time I was seriously doubting that I had made the right decision to take this trip and to start this project. This is because I have a habit of taking spontaneous adventures in my life that have almost always been amazing, but have come at some cost in certain areas of my life.

She introduced me to a number of great ideas and I shared some of my life experience with her as well. In our short time talking, we were both taking notes of things to look up and different ideas to explore. Here is one that I think is quite important that she shared with me. In this TED Talk, Eli Pariser speaks about Echo Chambers – also known as “filter bubbles” – how the internet is so curated for us now that we are all just seeing more of what is similar to our opinions – and why this is a problem.

The reason that our conversation was such a gift for me is that she was able to shake me out of my own self-doubt and to just “go for it” despite my doubts. Jess is very knowledgeable about social innovation and seemed to be exactly the right person to sit next to me on that plane at that time. To be honest, when we were getting onto the 6am flight from Calgary, I was in no mood to talk.

I share this story as an example of how a chance conversation with a random stranger can really make an impact. Because since that conversation, I have indeed decided to move forward with this Talk2MorePeople Canadian Tour and that has great potential to encourage others to make more connections. And making more connections is one way people can improve their lives, find more fulfilling work, or even find a wonderful life partner.

So once again, thank you so much Jess for the encouragement. I look forward to a future conversation down the road.

The next time you are on a flight and someone offers you the opportunity to have a conversation, do yourself a favour and take them up on it. You never know how it might change or improve your life.

 

Tony Esteves is an international speaker, MC, facilitator and performer who brings play back into the workplace. He is a published author and a performer with Le Cirque de la Nuit – a Calgary based circus. Tony has recently concluded his 1 year social experiment called, Talk2MorePeople. This project aims to illustrate and prove the value of meeting new people through face-to-face conversations. Here is an article from CBC Radio about the project. 

Connect with Tony for a meaningful face-to-face conversation.

Facebook.com/talk2morepeople

Talk2MorePeople.com

29 Sep

Posted at 03:14h in Blog, Talk 2 More People Movement, Travel

The Talk2MorePeople Canadian Tour Begins in Halifax this weekend.

Would you like to learn how to improve

your life by meeting strangers?

Here is your chance!

Talk2MorePeople is an initiative to encourage people to take a break from their technology and engage in good old fashioned face-to-face conversations once again.

This “Canadian Tour” of Talk2MorePeople has me traveling from Halifax to Calgary (and possibly further) by land to meet complete strangers in Canadian communities. I will capture a cross-cultural, cross-section of thoughts and ideas from these random Canadians through interviews for the Talk2MorePeople Podcast and for “LOOKUP”, an upcoming course that teaches people how to make new connections.

The initial “Talk2MorePeople Project” had me meet at least a new stranger a day for an entire year from April 2016 to April 2017 and it was a challenging and wonderful roller-coaster.

Would you like to get involved? If you think that having face-to-face conversations is a worthwhile idea and would like to remain updated on the Tour, please sign up for updates or contact tony@Talk2MorePeople.com to see how you can get involved.

I’ll be facilitating improv and communication workshops along the way and may be able to stop in your town if you have a group who you would like me to deliver a presentation to.

Thank you for being a part of this journey with me.

Tony Esteves is an international speaker, MC, facilitator and performer who brings play back into the workplace. He is a published author and a performer with Le Cirque de la Nuit – a Calgary based circus. Tony has recently concluded his 1 year social experiment called, Talk2MorePeople. This project aims to illustrate and prove the value of meeting new people through face-to-face conversations. Here is an article from CBC Radio about the project. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary…

Connect with Tony for a meaningful face-to-face conversation.

Facebook.com/talk2morepeople

www.Talk2MorePeople.com

10 Jun

Posted at 15:54h in Blog, Talk 2 More People Movement

This Talk2MorePeople Project Video Summary shows the challenges and outcomes of the Talk2MorePeople Project. This was a personal challenge to meet a new stranger every day for a full year. It concluded on April 12, 2017, and was transformational. There are countless examples of how my life was improved (and continues to improve) through these random conversations.

Meeting People Creates Results

But the greatest result is seeing all of the new connections that have come from this journey. The new connections that no longer involve me. Situations where I was just the medium for two energies to come together and for those two former strangers to start creating together.

That is what I believe true connection to be and it was an honour to facilitate some of that over this past year.

So do yourself a life-serving favour and Talk2MorePeople.

Tony Esteves is an international speaker, MC, facilitator and performer who brings play back into the workplace. He is a published author and a performer with Le Cirque de la Nuit – a Calgary based circus. Tony has recently concluded his 1-year social experiment called, Talk2MorePeople. This project aims to illustrate and prove the value of meeting new people through face-to-face conversations. Here is an article from CBC Radio about the project.

The Talk2MorePeople book will be published on January 21, 2021. Connect with Tony for a meaningful face-to-face conversation.

Facebook.com/talk2morepeople

Talk2MorePeople.com

08 May

Posted at 08:10h in Blog, Talk 2 More People Movement

If my project continued past a year, this would have been Day 366 of meeting a new stranger every day for a year.

A Sofar Sounds house concert happened in my living room.

Tonight I had the privilege of hosting a Sofar Sounds secret house concert in my living room as a result of a conversation with someone who I met on Day 96 of this challenge. This video explains how that happened and includes a glow in the dark juggling performance. 

Skip to 5:05 to see the glow juggling if you like.


It was a wonderful evening and the organizers allowed me to share some words about the Talk2MorePeople Project and then to also share a performance of my own once the musical acts were complete. I had about 45 people sitting in my living room, listening to these amazing, talented artists perform this intimate house concert

as a result of a random face-to-face conversation!

There is so much power and potential in random face to face conversations. Talk2MorePeople. Check out SofarSounds.com for information about a secret house concert in your city.

Tony Esteves is an international speaker, MC, facilitator and performer who brings play back into the workplace. He is a published author and a performer with Le Cirque de la Nuit – a Calgary based circus. Tony has recently concluded his 1-year social experiment called, Talk2MorePeople. This project aims to illustrate and prove the value of meeting new people through face-to-face conversations. Here is an article from CBC Radio about the project.

Connect with Tony for a meaningful face-to-face conversation.

Facebook.com/talk2morepeople

13 Apr

Posted at 11:21h in Talk 2 More People Movement

On this Day 365 of the Talk2MorePeople Project, I met Mike. In my living room! He was there servicing my internet and we got into conversation. He was generous with his great customer service and his time to chat a little. We learned a few things about one another and it was an enjoyable time.

Thank you for the conversation Mike!

Tony Esteves is an international speaker, MC, facilitator and performer who brings play back into the workplace. He is a published author and a performer with Le Cirque de la Nuit – a Calgary based circus. Tony has recently concluded his 1 year social experiment called, Talk2MorePeople. This project aims to illustrate and prove the value of meeting new people through face-to-face conversations. Here is an article from CBC Radio about the project.

Connect with Tony for a meaningful face-to-face conversation.

www.Facebook.com/talk2morepeople

www.Talk2MorePeople.com

10 Apr

Posted at 14:00h in Blog

Talk2MorePeople can allow you to do more of the things that you want to do. For me on T2MP Day 360, that was a hike. It ended with new sunglasses…

I was out hiking with Catherine and Renee – two friends who two months ago I had never met.

Try it!

Tony Esteves is an international speaker, MC, facilitator and performer who brings play back into the workplace. He is a published author, a 360 videographer and a performer with Le Cirque de la Nuit – a Calgary based circus. Tony is currently working on his 1 year social experiment called, Talk2MorePeople. This project aims to illustrate and prove the value of meeting new people. Here is an article from CBC Radio about the project.

Connect with Tony for a meaningful face-to-face conversation.

Check out the Talk2MorePeople book HERE.

International facilitator, performing artist and coach Tony Esteves is passionate about creating human connection, going up or down mountains and adventure. He holds a B.A. in Communication Studies, intentionally meets new people regularly and loves to play and improvise. Random life adventures keep Tony energized and grounded and he resides in Calgary, Canada.

Having lived, worked or travelled to 40 countries, he has facilitated learning experiences in North America, Europe and South Africa and learned a few languages along the way. He once enjoyed a project managing logistics on a U.S. Military base in Uzbekistan. 

He created the Talk2MorePeople Project which evolved into a year-long journey of human connection. In that year he met over 550 strangers and his mental health was transformed. Tony shares those insights with groups who value entertaining learning experiences and meaningful  conversations. Meeting a stranger is how he joined the circus and why he has a mirror suit. The Talk2MorePeople book was released on January 21, 2021. 

Join Tony’s adventure to help put an end to the epidemic of loneliness in the world today at Talk2MorePeople.com or find him @Talk2MorePeople.