Now We're Talking: Recent Episodes
Robert Danisch
Professor of Communication at the University of Waterloo. Host of "Now We're Talking" a podcast about how to improve Communication Skills.
In Episode 105 of Now We're Talking, we discuss the inner voice and how to improve intrapersonal communication.
In Episode 104 of Now We're Talking, we discuss the difference between support responses and shift responses in social interactions, and how we all might benefit from practicing support responses as we return to face-to-face social interactions.
In Episode 103 of Now We're Talking, we discuss the "feel, felt, found" technique for persuasion and for overcoming strong objections.
In Episode 102 of Now We're Talking, we learn the dangers of the cycle of mindless reciprocation and how to avoid it.
In Episode 101, we discuss the conditions that are necessary for engaging in the kind of conflict that will bring is closer together.
In Episode 100 of Now We're Talking we discuss the neutral inner voice as an important form of intrapersonal communication. Master the neutral inner voice and improve all of your communicative interactions.
In Episode 099 of Now We're Talking, we review the 10-20-30 rule for making presentations and why that rule helps us to be more persuasive.
In Episode 098 of Now We're Talking, we discuss rapport, and how the HEAR technique can build rapport and lead to cooperation.
In Episode 097 of Now We're Talking, we discuss rhetorical vision, and how to have a vision and why a vision is inspiring and persuasive and important.
In Episode 096 of Now We're Talking, we discuss the steel man technique for arguing and why it works better than the straw man technique or the hollow man technique.
In Episode 095 of Now We're Talking we compare communication practices that attempt to gain compliance through force (like threats, intimidation, and aggression) with communication that aims at cooperation in order to persuade.
In Episode 094 of Now We're Talking we discuss the process of motivational interviewing and how that process can be used to persuade people to change their minds or adopt new behaviors.
In Episode 093 of Now We're Talking we discuss the difference between compliance and persuasion, why compliance is a red flag for communication, and why persuasion is a better choice for effective communication.
In Episode 092 of Now We're Talking, we discuss the five communication practices that we know can lead to violence - how to spot them and what to do about them.
In Episode 091 of Now We're Talking we discuss the primal communication circuit and how it can bias our thinking.
In Episode 090 of Now We're Talking, we discuss why calling someone "crazy" is really ineffective and what to do instead in order to be persuasive.
In Episode 089 of Now We're Talking, we discuss bear trap questions, questions that are designed to trip you up and make you look bad, and what to do about them.
In Episode 088 of Now We're Talking, we discuss why people still might not be wearing a mask and how meaning gets constructed when we introduce a new thing like a mask into our culture.
In Episode 087 of Now We're Talking we discuss "deep canvassing," or the only way to persuade someone that holds a radically different political view from you.
In Episode 086 of Now We're Talking we review the psychological phenomenon of reactance and how it might contribute to miscommunication or failed persuasion and what we can do to avoid reactance through specific communication practices.
In Episode 085 of Now We're Talking, we discuss paraverbal communication, why it's important and how to make it a more reflective part of your communication practices.
In Episode 084 of Now We're Talking we discuss the art of asking strategic questions and how strategic questions can transform confrontation into collaboration.
In Episode 083 of Now We're Talking, we discuss why it's important to respond to people instead of reacting to them and how you might be responsive and not reactive.
In Episode 082 of Now We're Talking, we discuss the practice of emotional labeling and how to make it a reflective communication practice.
In Episode 081 of Now We're Talking, we discuss the simple and extremely effective practice of mirroring, and how to use mirroring as a reflective practice.
In Episode 080 of Now We're Talking, we review the difference between pre-reflective communication practices and reflective communication practices and why it's so important to engage in reflective practices of communication.
In Episode 079 of Now We're Talking we discuss switch-tracking and how it leads to conflict.
In Episode 078 of Now We're Talking, we discuss the effects of stonewalling on organizational cultures and why leaders that stonewall drive poor decision-making processes.
In Episode 077 of Now We're Talking, we discuss the importance of a high degree of self-awareness for those in leadership positions and how to communicate accurate self-awareness to others.
In Episode 076 of Now We're Talking, we discuss strategic thinking and strategic communication, both essential abilities for anyone in a leadership position.
In Episode 075 of Now We're Talking, we discuss the use of a specific question for mitigating people's emotional, anxious responses to change or uncertainty.
In Episode 074 of Now We're Talking, we discuss the importance of absorbing and diffusing emotions, especially in group work, and how we can suspend discussions to allow spaces for emotions to be heard and felt and understood, and the transformative impact of these practices on relationships.
In Episode 073 of Now We're Talking we discuss a four-step process for persuading a difficult audience that is likely to resist your requests.
In Episode 072 of Now We're Talking we discuss the four main tasks for anyone in a managerial or supervisory position: Building through a vision; Responding to crises; Repairing, improving, maintaining, and sustaining decision-making processes; and Building and maintaining strong interpersonal bonds.
In Episode 071 of Now We're Talking, we discuss the importance of diffusing negative feelings in communicative interactions, particularly through face-saving, repair attempts, and de-escalation.
In Episode 070 of Now We're Talking, we discuss the importance of helping others improve their communication skills by asking them one important questions - "What did you get out of that?" - to help them reflect on and improve their strategic ability to produce effects on others.
In Episode 069 of Now We're Talking we discuss why and how emotions always bias reasoning, and how master communicators always act in response to emotions instead of ignoring them.
In Episode 068 of Now We're Talking we talk about how the word "we" maps the world and creates forms of identification and division that can influence our communicative interactions.
In Episode 067 of Now We're Talking we discuss authenticity and how authentic and inauthentic communication affects our interactions.
In Episode 066 of Now We're Talking we discuss the difference between not-at-issue content in a statement and at-issue-content, and the ways in which the social meanings of not-at-issue content help create meaning.
In Episode 065 of Now We're Talking, we discuss the difference between transmitting information and creating meaning, and why good communicators focus more on meaning and less on information.
In Episode 064 of Now We're Talking we discuss the damage done by forms of emotional invalidation, and how to recognize when invalidation is happening and why we should try validation instead.
In Episode 063 of Now We're Talking we discuss the importance of balancing warmth and directness in our embodied communicative interactions and why balancing warmth and directness will have profound effects on others.
In Episode 062 of Now We're Talking, we offer a composite picture of effective leadership by showing how a leader can balance five main relational communication practices with five main functional communication practices.
In Episode 061 of Now We're Talking, we discuss how a leader can catalyze an effective deliberation and how important that skill is.
In Episode 060 of Now We're Talking, we discuss the importance of listening for and living in uncertainty. Leaders that seek out closure often make bad decisions, and leaders that are able to calmly live with ambiguity often make better decisions.
In Episode 059 of Now We're Talking, we discuss the opposite of making distinctions - affirming or acknowledging a person's view of the world and how powerful those acts can be.
In Episode 058 of Now We're Talking, we discuss the importance and the power of making careful distinctions, and how distinctions can produce effects on audiences and reframe conversations.
In Episode 057 of Now We're Talking we discuss the three main modes of producing trust, and how critical trust is to persuasion.
In Episode 056 of Now We're Talking we discuss the basic structure of an effective apology, and why apologies that pivot to intentions don't work. We also discuss how to produce trust after you've hurt someone.
In Episode 055 of Now We're Talking we discuss how and why repetition works so effectively as a practice of persuasion.
In Episode 054 of Now We're Talking, we discuss the concept of salience and the agenda setting function of communicative acts. The central lesson is that attention is persuasion.
In Episode 053 of Now We're Talking, we discuss the appropriate structure of a persuasive, rational paragraph, and how to improve the effectiveness of our writing.
In Episode 052 of Now We're Talking, we discuss how we might make a persuasive assertion and the different effects of hyperbole and careful reasoning.
In Episode 051 of Now We're Talking we discuss the common practice of making assertions and why assertions are often not persuasive. We also review ways of making assertions more persuasive.
In Episode 050 of Now We're talking, we discuss one of the main axioms of communication: what's meant is never just what's said. When we are concerned with the human problem of meaning, we cannot just reduce language or messages to their denotative content.
In Episode 049 of Now We're Talking, we discuss micro-communication practices - the smallest, most detailed and habitual forms of communication that we employ - and why improving our micro-communication practices might help improve our effectiveness.
In Episode 048 of Now We're Talking we discuss pull tactics of persuasion like asking good questions and catalyzing effective conversations. Good leaders know how to do these two things.
In Episode 047 of Now We're Talking we discuss the differences between push tactics of persuasion and pull tactics and why leaders that use pull tactics are more successful than leaders that use push tactics.
In Episode 045 of Now We're Talking we discuss the simplest and clearest way to win a political election: narrative. We also discuss why democrats continue to lose elections and why policies don't matter in political campaigns.
In Episode 044 of Now We're Talking we review the basic difference between thinking about communication as a matter of transmission and thinking about communication as a process of producing effects on others. We also look at some current examples to think through the consequences of this distinction.
In Episode 043 of Now We're Talking, we discuss leadership and the importance of storytelling and value claims.
In Episode 042, we discuss charisma as a product of communication practices and how anyone can develop charisma by mastering communication.
In Episode 041 of Now We're Talking, we discuss compliance triggers and how the six main compliance triggers produce effects on audiences.
In Episode 040 of Now We're Talking we discuss the ways in which background assumptions influence the communication process and cause conflict. We also discuss techniques for managing or responding to others' assumptions.
In Episode 039 of Now We're Talking we review some key issues in non-verbal communication and how our bodies are important in public speaking.
In Episode 038 of Now We're Talking, we cover the importance of storytelling in public speaking: how to structure stories and why they work so well.
In Episode 037 of Now We're Talking, we review some of the basic fallacies used in public speaking and why would ought to avoid fallacious reasoning.
In Episode 036 of Now We're Talking, we review the five basic principles of public speaking.
In Episode 035 of Now We're Talking we discuss the virtues of choosing more concrete words over abstract words.
In Episode 034 of Now We're Talking we discuss the importance of word choice in writing and how to choose words well.
In Episode 033 of New We're Talking we discuss the importance of tone, rhythm, and emphasis in your writing.
In Episode 032 of Now We're Talking, we discuss the importance of planting objections in your writing and how including potential counter claims can make your writing more persuasive.
In Episode 031 of Now We're Talking, we discuss related self-disclosure in small group settings, and how self-disclosure can build trust.
In Episode 030 of Now We're Talking we discuss ineffective small group communication practices, and how the desire for individuation can undermine cooperation.
In Episode 029 of Now We're Talking, we review some key features of facilitation. Knowing how to facilitate a meeting is a critical component of effective small group communication.
In Episode 028 of Now We're Talking, we discuss why teams are able to outperform individuals by making better decisions and tapping into the knowledge, skills, and information possessed by all the members of the team.
In Episode 027 of Now We're Talking, I talk with one of my students about the importance of affective states for relationships and the kinds of communication practices that can engage positive affective states and avoid negative affective states.
In Episode 026 of Now We're Talking, I talk with one of my students about conflict in interpersonal relationships and the kinds of communication practices that can promote productive conflict.
In Episode 025 of Now We're Talking, I review active listening with one of my students.
In Episode 024 of Now We're Talking, I talk with one of my students about intrapersonal communication and how important it is to our self-concept.
In Episode 023 of New We're Talking we discuss why leaders ought to organize messages by privileging why questions over what or how questions.
In Episode 022 of Now We're Talking we discuss what framing is, why it is important, and how leaders can or ought to frame discussions in strategic ways.
In Episode 021 of Now We're Talking, we review the process of making and responding to bids inside interpersonal relationships and how important that process is to healthy interpersonal relationships.
In this episode of Now We're Talking, we discuss public narrative as a leadership practice. We also discuss the five emotions that public narratives must produce in order to mobilize people to act.
In Episode 019 of Now We're Talking we discuss storytelling as a necessary leadership skill. We review what a story is and what makes one effective.
In Episode 018 of Now We're Talking we discuss what parallel structure is, why it's important for writing, and how to use it in your sentences.
In Episode 017 of Now We're Talking, we discuss the other marks of the English language that we use in writing, what function they perform and how to use the clearly.
In this episode of Now We're Talking, we discuss commas, what they are and how to use them properly.
In this episode of Now We're Talking we discuss what a sentence is and some of the most simple and direct ways for writing better sentences.
In this Episode of "Now We're Talking" we consider what a word is and why a word has both connotative and denotative meaning. We also discuss the importance of word choice in writing and speaking.
In this episode we talk about the basics of writing as a communication practice, and how every piece of writing needs to answer three questions and be driven by the values of clarity, precision, beauty, and eloquence.
In Episode 0012 of Now We're Talking we discuss the communication patterns that are destructive of interpersonal relationships and what to look out for or avoid in order to be a better partner.
In Episode 011 of Now We're Talking we discuss both micro and macro kinds of communication practices that have profound affects on the quality of interpersonal relationships and why we are responsible for our partner's feelings.
In Episode 010 of Now We're Talking we discuss effective and ineffective forms of functional communication in team settings. Want to know how to help a team make a good decision or avoid a bad decision? Then follow these communication practices.
In this episode we talk about helpful and harmful relational communication practices, and how certain practices help meet the socio-emotional needs of teams and others hurt teams.
In Episode 008 of Now We're Talking, we discuss the essentials of teamwork and small group communication, and the importance of pursuing functional goals and meeting the socio-emotional needs of team members.
In Episode 007 of Now We're Talking, we discuss the difference between talking with and talking to in interpersonal and small group situations. Talking with produces positive affects on our partners and teammates while talking to can be harmful and destructive.
This is a podcast about communication skills. In this episode we talk about how to facilitate difficult conversations or difficult meetings. The role of the facilitator is to generate mutual understanding and help groups make good decisions.
In this episode, we discuss self-disclosure as a necessary and important communication skill. In particular we focus on the affect that self-disclosure has on interpersonal relationships, on teamwork, and in public settings.
This is Episode 004 of Now We're Talking, a podcast about communication skills. In this episode we talk about communicative narcissism, interpretive kindness, perception checking, and empathetic listening - all essential practices for a good partner.
This is a podcast about how to improve your communication skills, and in this episode we talk about mirroring, active listening, and some other advanced listening techniques to develop trust and intimacy through interpersonal communication.
In Episode 002 of Now We're Talking we cover the basics of interpersonal communication and discuss some fundamental insights into how to be a better partner, better family member, better coworker, and better friend.
This is a podcast about communication skills for those that want to be a better partner, better teammate, better writer, better speaker, and better leader. Each week we'll discuss how to improve your communication practices.