Why can some people effortlessly connect with anyone, while others struggle to converse? Conversations are skills that can be learned, practiced, and mastered. Kevin sits down with Charles Duhigg, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist and the author of his latest book, Supercommunicators, to discuss the practical tips to become relevant in a conversation. They cover how to master social anxiety, ask deep questions, and avoid surface-level garble. Charles provides listening techniques, ways to walk away from the conversation, and what readers can gain from Supercommunicators.

Guest Bio and Links:
Charles Duhigg is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist and the author of Supercommunicators, The Power of Habit, and Smarter Faster Better. A graduate of Harvard Business School and Yale College, he is a winner of the National Academies of Sciences, National Journalism, and George Polk awards. He writes for The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, and other publications, and is the host of the podcast How To! with Charles Duhigg.

Listeners can learn more about Charles Duhigg at https://www.charlesduhigg.com/ and on X https://x.com/cduhigg

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Resources:
Kevin's Newsletter: https://kevin-rose.ck.page/
Charles Duhigg’s Books: https://www.charlesduhigg.com/all-books
Do conversations end when people want them to? - https://dtg.sites.fas.harvard.edu/MAS...
It Doesn’t Hurt to Ask: Question-Asking Increases Liking - https://www.hbs.edu/ris/Publication%2...
Elon Musk Interview + Kevin Reboots the Old Foundation Series (#3) - https://www.kevinrose.com/elon-musk-i...

Show Notes:
0:00 Introduction
1:27 Supercommunicators
2:10 Ways to start an authentic conversation
6:20 Deep questions: what they are, and how to ask them
8:30 “The way to think about deep questions is I want to ask you not about the facts of your life but about how you feel about your life.” -Charles Duhigg
10:00 Kevin and Charles do a conversation roleplay
15:48 Strategies to build trust in conversation
17:18 Listening method: looping for understanding
21:58 Elon Musk Interview + Kevin Reboots the Old Foundation Series (#3)
24:48 How to avoid dead ends in conversation
25:30 Surefire ways to gracefully walk away from a conversation
31:16 It Doesn’t Hurt to Ask: Question-Asking Increases Liking
36:14 Three types of conversations: practical, social, emotional
39:29 How to handle conflict in conversation
48:01 Charles on writing Supercommunicators
50:21 The concept of neural entrainment
53:53 The role of humor in communicating
01:01:30 Hypothesising what made Steve Jobs's talks hit so well
01:04:41 What readers can gain from Supercommunicators
1:08:09 Closing thoughts

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