Become a better communicator: Specific frameworks to improve your clarity, influence, and impact

Wes Kao, co-founder of Maven and former collaborator of Seth Godin on the altMBA, shares her path from retail to course creation and tech. The conversation covers five practical communication ideas: the super specific how, the content hierarchy of BS, state change in meetings, eyes lighting up, and managing up, plus writing craft and how to say no.

01Key learnings

• Spend less time on why an idea matters and more on the specific how: concrete steps, nuances, and examples that let people apply it.
• Cut backstory and preamble; start right before the juicy part of the story, as Wes puts it, 'right before you get eaten by the bear.'
• Recognize that formats like Twitter or keynotes allow more BS, while courses and cohort settings demand rigor because students can challenge you.
• Punctuate monologues every three to five minutes with a state change such as a poll, chat prompt, breakout room, or screen-share switch to keep audiences engaged.
• Watch for eyes-lighting-up moments in conversations and pitches; treat visible engagement or boredom as real data and build on what resonates.
• Manage up proactively by sharing context on decisions, judging whether a decision is reversible, and avoiding surprises for your manager.
• Lead with your recommendation or bottom line, then add context, so readers who agree can stop early and skeptics can keep reading.
• When saying no, talk through trade-offs and reprioritization instead, so the other person sees what gives way and can weigh in.

02Frameworks mentioned

Summary and takeaways written by PM Atlas; quotes are short excerpts. © the original author.