{"id":1699,"date":"2026-06-22T17:38:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T17:38:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=1699"},"modified":"2026-06-22T17:38:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T17:38:16","slug":"big-talk-comes-to-honolulu-with-a-guide-to-meaningful-connection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=1699","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Big Talk\u2019 comes to Honolulu with a guide to meaningful connection"},"content":{"rendered":"
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HONOLULU (Hawaii News Now) \u2014 A social media series focused on meaningful conversations has grown into a global movement \u2014 and now a new book \u2014 aimed at fighting loneliness and social isolation.<\/p>\n

Read more UH to propose changes to peaceful protests on campus<\/a><\/p>\n

Kalina Silverman, founder of Big Talk, joined HNN\u2019s Sunrise Weekends<\/i> to discuss having important conversations with strangers and her new book, a guide to creating deeper connections.<\/p>\n

Big Talk started as a simple experiment \u2014 skipping small talk with strangers to ask deeper questions \u2014 and has since grown to 367,000 followers on Instagram.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started Make Big Talk over 10 years ago as a personal passion project when I moved to a new city for the first time, and I felt really lonely. I didn\u2019t know why, because I was meeting new people, but I realized it was because there was a lot of small talk and not those deeper connections that we all need and crave as humans.\u201d Silverman said.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Big Talk has hosted more than 2,000 workshops for master\u2019s and PhD students from over 75 countries and has spoken to audiences around the world about connection, belonging, and the power of human stories.<\/p>\n

” Everyone thinks that I\u2019m covering disasters, and it\u2019s really sad, but it\u2019s actually very uplifting to meet people who are so resilient and kind, even after a disaster,” Silverman said.<\/p>\n

Silverman has helped raise more than $3 million for survivors of the Los Angeles fires, Hurricane Helene, the Texas floods, and the Hawaii floods, earning her a Shorty Impact Award for Emergency Relief Storytelling.<\/p>\n

Read more What\u2019s Cooking: Local Family showcases island BBQ<\/a><\/p>\n

Born and raised in Santa Monica, California, Silverman earned a degree in Broadcast Journalism from Northwestern University\u2019s Medill School of Journalism.<\/p>\n

In 2017, she received a Fulbright Scholarship in Singapore, where she researched ways to build cross-cultural empathy through conversation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really feels like it\u2019s one conversation at a time. I\u2019ll meet one person, then someone will see my video, and then I\u2019ll meet another… Each conversation can lead to another, and that\u2019s really the beauty of Big Talk: you never know where one conversation may lead,\u201d Silverman said.<\/p>\n

Silverman said her dream for Big Talk is to keep taking it around the world and growing it in this grassroots way\u2014because the part I can control is each person I meet.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just want to keep spreading the message and good vibes of Big Talk, interviewing people, and meeting everyone.\u201d Silverman said.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Silverman gave some advice on how to talk to new people.<\/p>\n

\u201cI say go outside, smile at someone, and if you have a because there\u2019s so many times where you\u2019re like, oh, I wish I said that I wish I connected with that stranger, they seem so interesting.\u201d Silverman said.<\/p>\n

Read more What\u2019s Cooking: Soul Chicken brings Korean-style fried chicken to Honolulu<\/a><\/p>\n

Visit Big Talk on their IG and makebigtalk.com.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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