This program is sponsored by the Kavli Foundation based in Los Angeles, California.

The Kavli Foundation is dedicated to advancing science for the benefit of humanity. I'm Alan Alda, and this is clear and vivid conversations about connecting and communicating.

When they've talked to folks who are consistent super-communicators,

because we're all super-communicators at one time or another,

but people who can connect with almost anyone who

are really good at this.

And they ask them, have you always been good at communication?

Most often they say no.

They say something like, you know, when I was in high school I had trouble making friends so I really had to study how kids talk to each other or where my parents got divorced and I had to be the peacemaker between them or my dad was a salesman and my grandfather was a con man. And so I really had to think about like, study them and try and figure out what's going on. And I think what's happening there is that oftentimes thinking just a little like half an inch deeper thinking about communication is what makes us better at communication.

That's Charles Doohig. He's a journalist whose new book is called Supercommunicators.

How to Unlock the Secret Power of Connection.

Since this is a podcast that devotes itself to conversations about connecting and

communicating, we knew that having Charles on the show was likely to lead to a great

conversation and we weren't disappointed. This is such a wonderful book.

Oh thank you. I just love this book. As I understand it you really wrote it for

yourself because you needed to read a book like this.

That's exactly right.

I find that this is my third book and I'm curious if you've had similar experiences.

I find that the best books are the ones where I say like I really have a problem I need to figure

out how to solve and here if I call up all these experts they'll probably talk to me if I tell them I'm

writing a book so I'll go ahead and do that.

Am I right that it began with your figuring out when you were in a job managing at the New York

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