
The Psychology of Being a Super Communicator | Charles Duhigg
From Finding Mastery with Dr. Michael Gervais by Dr. Michael Gervais
May 13, 2026 · 52 min
About this episode
Charles Duhigg discusses the psychology of communication and the importance of understanding different types of conversations.
Why do so many conversations break down, even when both people are trying to connect? Charles Duhigg is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and the bestselling author of The Power of Habit and Supercommunicators . This is his third conversation on Finding Mastery, and the timing matters. The world has shifted since the last time he and Dr. Michael Gervais spoke. Families, friendships, even whole countries are talking past each other. AI has quietly eroded the signals we used to read each other by. And the ability to genuinely connect with another human has gone from useful to essential. The first thing Charles makes clear is that being a great communicator is not a gift reserved for a lucky few. It's a habit. And it starts with noticing something most of us miss in real time: we are all moving through three kinds of conversations every day. The practical, the emotional, and the social. Most of our misunderstandings happen for one simple reason. The person across from us is in one kind of conversation while we're in another. Charles unpacks what he calls the matching principle and one of the most useful questions a teacher ever taught him: do you want to be helped, hugged, or…
People in this episode
Host: Dr. Michael Gervais
Guest: Charles Duhigg
Topics covered
- communication
- psychology
- relationships
- AI impact
- conversation types
Keywords
- communication
- conversations
- emotional
- social
- AI
- understanding
- matching principle
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: The Power of Habit, Supercommunicators
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