Think Fast Talk Smart: Communication Techniques

I’ve been a big fan of your podcast for a while and always found your insights on communication incredibly valuable. One of the concepts that stood out to me was the “What, So What, Now What” framework. Recently, I applied it in a way I didn’t expect—to reflect on some personal challenges—and I wanted to share the impact it had. For a long time, I struggled with perfectionism, fear of vulnerability, and communication—particularly in interpersonal dynamics. I would often stay quiet in meetings or avoid social/leadership role as a result, despite being a high performer (technical skills). Over the past month, I’ve been journaling and reflecting on patterns like perfectionism, fear of vulnerability, but my thoughts felt scattered. When I used your framework, everything finally clicked. What: Root causes driving patterns, like how early success made me tie self-worth to objective outcomes. So What: Behaviors and outcomes resulting from those causes (e.g., avoid step out of comfort zone, reluctance to collaborate etc.) Now What: Steps to overcome these behaviors (e.g., intention setting, practicing vulnerability) Since that realization, I’ve experienced a real breakthrough—I feel more open, talkative, and comfortable engaging with others. Conversations/meetings that used to feel stressful now feel like opportunities, and I’ve started enjoying connection in ways I never expected. Thank you for all you do.

Very effective communication for listeners to quickly identify how to utilize the ideas and concepts discussed in each episode. I’m impressed and this speaks to so many genres in our lives; at home, work, and social interactions. Thank you!

I’ve always been someone that I feel struggled with communication. I mumble, get stumped easily, let my emotions dictate my choice of words. Improving my ability to communicate has always been a focus of mine. Maybe I need to start listening from the beginning but I really don’t know what the hype is about. I’ve tried really hard to actually extract some value from this podcast but it’s difficult. The host Matt is pretty good, he enunciates very well but to the point he sounds like a robot. For some reason he doesn’t use contractions and sounds like he’s reading off of notes. However the topics are good and his questions are good. Since these guys are master communicators, they’re very good at giving answers that sound good but don’t hold weight. These conversations are very academic and in theory seem to be very useful but the episode ends and I find I haven’t gained any practical benefit. Take for example season 4 episode 73. Matt asks Allison Wood Brooks to give tips to make small talk more smoothly. A very good question. Dr. Brooks talks about why small talk is important buy subsequently provide zero tips. This example is emblematic of the entire podcast. The guests are very successful academics, and it seems like they only communicate with people of similar socioeconomic backgrounds. Maybe it’s not meant to be more, but when the episode ends and I arrive to work I find myself not having learned anything I could use myself.

Could you make the music any more obnoxious? I think not.