This Hidden Brain podcast episode explores the science of conversation, interviewing behavioral scientist Alison Wood Brooks. The episode uses anecdotes from Brooks' personal life (a disastrous blind date and a challenging conversation with a friend) to illustrate common conversational pitfalls, such as a lack of reciprocal curiosity ("zero questioners" or ZQs) and the tendency to steer conversations back to oneself ("boomerang" questions). Brooks introduces the "Topic Pyramid" as a framework for navigating conversations, suggesting that skillful communicators frequently switch topics while maintaining depth, and emphasizes the power of open-ended questions and follow-up questions to foster engagement. Listeners gain practical advice on improving their conversational skills by being more mindful of their questioning techniques and actively listening to their conversation partners.
