The Boston Globe
"No worrying 'Am I being interesting enough and charming enough?' Just talk, and then listen."
Full article here.
THE HARVARD CRIMSON
Kirsner compares vulnerability to strength training, calling it a muscle. “The skills you're building here become really relevant to the rest of your life,” she says. “Vulnerability is really the only way you can get to feeling connected with someone over time.”
American Inno
“‘I want people to feel more comfortable getting deeper, faster,’ said Ashley Kirsner, the founder of Skip the Small Talk. ‘Because vulnerability is the fastest road to connection.’”
Full article here.
Boston Magazine
“‘I think it’s giving people a place to be seen and understood, and to practice seeing and understanding other people,’ [Kirsner] says.”
Full article here.
new england cable news
“‘We’re working to help the loneliest generation feel more connected.”
Full video here.
Scout Somerville
“‘It’s easy for communities like that to be kind of in-group-y and exclusive,’ Kirsner says, ‘but it’s been lovely to see that attendees are quite inclusive.’”
Full article here.
The Outline
"The conversation took place at a gathering called Skip the Small Talk, which sold out of its 70 tickets at $10 apiece. Jumping off cue cards — 'What were your middle school and high school experiences like?' — the mostly young roomful of participants formed pairs and small groups to bypass the usual niceties and dive straight into topics both personal and sometimes confessional."
Full article here.
the showing up anyway podcast
“You definitely have to take care of your own stuff before you can take care of other people.”
Full podcast here.
creative yatra (india)
“I’m hoping to offer a safer space for people to practice vulnerability.”
Full Q&A here.
Poiesis Podcast
"There's this really deep need to fit in, and vulnerability is the opposite of that a lot of the time."
Full podcast here.
SOWN Newsletter
"Accept awkwardness as the entry fee to having deeper connections."
Full interview here.
Photo: Sara Littlejohn
Saratown Blog
“It takes out the awkward aspects of meeting a stranger, and talking to them and also it gives them an opportunity to express themselves in a way I think not a lot of people are used to on a daily basis.”
Full Q&A with Skip the Small Talk host Madeline Ziegler here.
Center for women and enterprise
“Ashley admits: ‘I used to be a perfectionist, so I’ve learned how to do things before I know every detail of how it will work out.’”
Full article here.