Podcast Summary: Fixable (TED)

Episode: How to Communicate with Your Colleagues

Release Date: October 6, 2025
Hosts: Anne Morriss & Frances Frei
Guest: Danielle (Director of Communications)

Overview

This episode zeros in on one of the most persistent yet slippery organizational challenges: how to help managers become effective communicators in today's hybrid workplace. Harvard professor Frances Frei and leadership coach Anne Morriss guide guest Danielle—an experienced director of communications—through diagnosing persistent problems, exploring new solutions, and sharing actionable strategies to create meaningful change. Expect insights on information overload, the limits of digital tools like Slack, and why simplicity, repetition, and cultural alignment are non-negotiable for workplace communication success.

Key Topics & Discussion Points

1. Defining the Communication Challenge

• Hybrid & Remote Overload: Danielle describes her company's shift from a small, communicative startup to a 400-person remote-first operation, leading to overwhelming flows of information—especially on Slack ([05:30]–[07:00]).
• Survey Findings: A recent internal survey exposed that only 42% of employees see their manager as a reliable source of internal communication—a highly uncommon result.
• Danielle's Core Question:
  “In the hybrid world of work, what should we actually focus on to help managers be great communicators? What have you seen work best?” ([03:26]–[04:10])

2. Diagnosis: Variability, Design, and Capability

• Framework for Underperformance: Anne frames the problem using their “capability, motivation, license” diagnostic—asking if it’s skill, will, or structural permission that’s missing ([07:44]–[08:16]).
• Pockets of Excellence: Frances points out, “There are always some who have gotten it right… find out who does it well and see what they do that’s different” ([04:40]–[05:03]).
• Organizational Design Imperative: “Organizations are perfectly designed for the results they get,” Anne notes, emphasizing the need for systemic tweaks over ad hoc fixes ([13:49]).

3. The Slack Problem & Information Chaos

• Slack’s Double-Edged Sword:
  • Too many messages and channels blur important information; expectations of self-curation are unrealistic for employees ([06:33], [15:01]).
  • Frances: “Your managers have an impossible task right now… They don’t even know which channels their people are subscribing to.” ([16:01]–[16:42])
• Cultural Tension: Danielle hesitates to impose new 'rules' that could stifle the company’s open, self-directed culture ([17:42]).
• Recommended Approach: Open, participatory problem-solving—inviting cross-section teams to help redesign communication workflows, reflecting cultural values ([18:29]).

4. Becoming Explicit: Principles & Processes

• Explicit Communication Principles:
  Danielle shares her company’s success with explicit rituals for meetings (“leave room for informal connection”), but admits no guidance exists for Slack usage ([19:37]).
• Adapting to Scale: Tools and practices that worked at 50 people don't serve an organization of 400.

5. Deep Simplicity, Repetition, and Message Design

• The Need for Simplicity: Frances urges, “I have to understand the important message so deeply I can describe it simply… Most of us stop way short of that.” ([21:50])
• Repetition is Key:
  Anne: “We’re really afraid of repetition for some reason. We think it’s boring. That’s a hill I will die on… research backs you up totally on that repetition point.” ([23:24]–[23:47])
• Measure by Retention, Not by Output: Communication is effective only when evidence shows the message is received and understood ([13:49]; George Bernard Shaw quote).

6. Embracing Multimedia & New Technology

• Leverage Video & Audio:
  • Short, well-designed videos (≤5 minutes) are far more effective; people retain more watching at 1.5–1.7x speed and most prefer audio while in motion ([24:02]–[28:33]).
  • Subtitles and well-produced content matter.
• AI as a Communication Concierge:
  • AI tools can help employees quickly find answers and even summarize complex information in plain language.
  • Frances: “AI is going to be a really good solution for you… When you put all your internal documents into an AI bot… you can behind the scenes see the questions that people ask… and if you don’t like the answers… tune the AI.” ([30:03]–[32:16])
  • Must proactively teach employees to use AI effectively (“level three” prompts, not just basic questions).

Notable Quotes & Moments

• Frances ([04:40]): “There are always some who have gotten it right… find out who does it well and see what they do that’s different from the people who don’t.”
• Anne ([13:49]): “Organizations are perfectly designed for the results that they get.”
• Anne ([13:49]): “The biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” (George Bernard Shaw)
• Frances ([16:01]): “Your managers have an impossible task right now… There’s just no chance [to separate signal from noise] if you’re in 10 of those channels.”
• Danielle ([20:09]): “Cats and dogs worked when we were 50. It’s not working now.”
• Frances ([23:24]): “Most of us stop way short… we describe the important message in a complicated way… We need deeply, simply communication.”
• Anne ([23:47]): “Particularly smart people resist [repetition]. But that is the way as the environment gets noisier… people are able to absorb what’s important, when you keep repeating it.”
• Frances ([24:28]): “People that listened to the video at 1.7x retain more than people that listened at 1x… Audio is better than video… the highest retention comes when listening in motion.”
• Frances ([28:33]): “For video… have the summary come up in block words… break it up… It’s an art form.”
• Frances ([30:11]): “When you put all of your internal documents into an AI bot that people can query… you can see the questions that were asked and tune the bot.”
• Anne ([21:32]): “E.O. Wilson: We have prehistoric minds, medieval institutions, and the technology of the gods… our technology is moving at an astonishing pace.”
• Anne ([29:23]): “We’re not having the conversation I thought we would. But I’m getting so much out of it… You’ve got me pumped again about my job.”
• Anne ([36:52]): “It’s not about clarity—it’s about making your presence felt. And I think that challenge… is harder and more urgent than ever as a core capability of leadership.”

Actionable Takeaways

For Communication Leaders:

• Audit existing practices and gather cross-functional teams to co-create new communication norms, especially for digital tools like Slack.
• Spotlight and scale practices from internal “pockets of excellence.”
• Be explicit about communication principles at scale; what worked small may require new rules and rituals.

For Managers:

• Embrace message simplicity and repetition; measure by employee understanding, not just content volume.
• Use video/audio strategically—short, well-edited, designed for quick, repeated, and multi-modal consumption.

For Organizations:

• Train everyone—including managers and staff—how to use AI for self-service information, not just basic lookups.
• Make communication process improvements reflect the organization’s values—not just top-down decrees.

Memorable Moment

The “Cats and Dogs” Slack Dilemma ([16:42]–[20:11]) Frances and Anne riff on the realness and absurdity of Slack communication chaos, with Frances warning:
“Don’t take away the cats and dogs. Let me just tell you—that’s it. Don’t do that yet. Because that signals a change in the… [culture].”

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [03:26] Danielle’s Challenge: Managers and communication in a hybrid workplace
• [07:44] Diagnosing underperformance: Capability, motivation, or license?
• [13:49] Organizational design and Shaw’s “illusion” quote
• [16:01] Slack’s chaos—managers can’t curate info
• [18:29] Bottom-up process: crowdsourcing solutions
• [21:32] Technology outpaces our Paleolithic brains (E.O. Wilson reference)
• [23:24] The necessity—and resistance to—repetition
• [24:28] Video/audio learning efficiency & science
• [30:11] AI as a solution and the need for upskilling
• [36:52] Leadership means making your presence felt

Tone & Style

The episode is lively, open, and packed with actionable advice—mixing the hosts’ sharp expertise and warmth with Danielle’s honest, practical perspective. Candid storytelling and humor (“don’t take away the cats and dogs!”) keep technical discussion accessible and engaging.

Final Thoughts

This conversation is an energizing, hope-filled guide for anyone wrestling with workplace communication in a remote, digital era. Frances and Anne model what it looks like to tackle old problems in new, evidence-based ways—and their optimism is infectious. As Danielle says:
“You’ve got me pumped again about my job. I am always a little bit pumped, but I’m extra pumped.” ([29:23])

For more episodes or to share your own workplace conundrum, contact Fixable at 234-FIXABLE (234-349-2253).