Show Notes
Are you struggling to make complex ideas clear and drive real adoption in a world full of noise and rapid change?
Tamsen Webster and Kate O’Neill dive deep to discover how leaders can design understanding, foster sensemaking, and communicate authentically—especially in the age of AI and cognitive overload.
Topics Covered
Designing understanding vs. leaving it to chance Avoiding manipulation and supporting agency Sensemaking vs. persuasion Communicating complexity and change in organizations Framing messages for genuine adoption Human information processing and the role of curiosity AI-mediated communication: risks, opportunities, and bell curves Cognitive overload and capturing productive attention Transfer of ideas and the importance of commonly-held beliefs Transparency, uncertainty, and the power of theory-based communication Sensemaking vs. meaning-making What keeps us hopeful about the future of human connection
Connect with Tamsen Webster
Website ”Say What They Can’t Unhear” (book page) LinkedIn Instagram
Episode Chapters
00:04 Introduction: The Tech Humanist Show and today’s challenge for leaders 02:15 Tamsen Webster’s journey into message design 05:48 Alignment and complexity in communication 07:01 Where leaders go wrong with complexity 09:18 Avoiding oversimplification—layering information 12:28 Persuasion vs. genuine sensemaking and learning 16:15 The cost of coercive persuasion and non-coercive approaches 21:00 Communicating in the age of AI: leaders’ new challenges 27:06 Human brains, AI, and the limits of insight 29:06 Coping with fragmented attention and cognitive overload 33:59 Building curiosity and harnessing reciprocity 34:20 Communicating uncertainty and theory-based leadership 38:44 Juxtaposition, innovation, and clarity 39:16 Where to find Tamsen’s work 40:00 Lightning round: favorite questions, books, and hope for the future 44:10 Closing and show credits
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