5 Small Experiments That Can Change the Way You Communicate

Most communication advice starts with questions like:

• How to express yourself more clearly.
• How to give feedback effectively.
• How to persuade others.
• How to communicate your position.

Yet the longer I work with communication, the more convinced I become that most communication challenges are not caused by a lack of techniques or the wrong choice of words. They begin much earlier.

The quality of our conversations is shaped by how we respond to tension, how we deal with uncertainty, how quickly we jump to conclusions, which assumptions we consider self-evident, and how aware we are of our own reactions.

This is why, in my work with clients, I often introduce not only communication frameworks and tools, but also small practical experiments. They help us look at familiar conversations and relationships from a different angle, notice recurring patterns, and gradually become aware of what usually remains invisible.

I like this approach because lasting change rarely comes from learning a single new technique. More often, it begins with observing ourselves.

Below are five simple experiments that I regularly use in my work and often suggest to clients. Five minutes of your time may be enough to see a conversation, a conflict, or an important relationship in a new way.

1. Slow Down a Conversation

Try having at least one conversation more slowly than usual.

• Respond a little more slowly.
• Take a little longer to formulate your thoughts.
• Allow a slightly longer pause before speaking.

This may sound insignificant, but communication speed is often less about efficiency and more about internal tension. We rush to answer. We rush to explain ourselves. We rush to fill the silence. We rush to reach a conclusion.

And yet clarity tends to emerge at a calmer pace. Try having one conversation without rushing and notice what changes.

2. Pay Attention Not Only to Words, but Also to Your Body

For one day, pay attention not only to what other people are saying, but also to what is happening inside you during conversations.

From the perspective of neuroscience and emotional intelligence, the body often notices tension before the conscious mind can explain it. Many communication reactions begin physiologically, long before we have had time to think them through.

Very often, communication development starts not with learning a new technique but with recognising a simple moment: “I no longer feel completely at ease in this conversation.” Once we notice that moment, we gain a choice about how we want to continue.

3. Talk & Walk

If there is a conversation you have been postponing or a question you have been unable to resolve, try discussing it while walking.

It is remarkable how differently our thinking works when the body is moving. Conversations often become less constrained, thoughts become less repetitive, tension decreases, and solutions frequently emerge more quickly and more clearly.

Part of the reason is that walking helps the nervous system move out of a state of fixation and control. Our attention broadens, cognitive flexibility increases, and with it comes the ability to see new connections and interpretations.

This works particularly well for questions that have been circling in your mind for a long time without resolution. Take a walk in a park, choose an unfamiliar route through your city, and do not rush.

Sometimes clearer thinking comes not from concentrating harder but from simply starting to move.

4. Imagine a Life Without Uncertainty

For three to five minutes, imagine that everything in your life is completely certain.

• Which decisions will turn out to be right.
• Which relationships will last.
• How an important conversation will end.
• Where you will live ten years from now.
• Which projects will succeed and which will fail.

Think about the different areas of your life, especially those currently creating the most tension or uncertainty. Imagine that all the answers are already known.

You may notice an interesting paradox. Many of us say we want more certainty. But if we imagine a life where everything is known in advance, very few of us would genuinely choose to live it. Because together with uncertainty, we would also lose curiosity, discovery, possibility, and much of what makes life interesting.

The same applies to communication. We spend enormous amounts of energy trying to find the perfect words, predict another person’s reaction, and eliminate every possibility of misunderstanding.

But perhaps good communication is not about removing uncertainty. Perhaps it is about learning to live alongside it.

5. Question Your Obvious Truths

Take a few minutes to answer the following questions quickly. Do not analyse for too long. Simply write down the first answer that comes to mind.

In a professional context:

In a personal context:

Then ask yourself one simple question: Where did I learn this?

• My parents?
• School?
• My first job?
• My culture?
• Previous relationships?
• Films and media?
• My social environment?
• Personal experience?

This is often where things become interesting. Many of our assumptions do not feel like opinions. They feel like reality — like something so obvious that it does not require discussion.

And that is precisely why it can be difficult to understand people who see the world differently.

What These Experiments Have in Common

We tend to think of communication as an exchange of information, ideas, and arguments. Yet the quality of a conversation is often shaped not only by what happens between people, but also by what happens within us while the conversation is taking place.

Many communication challenges are therefore not caused by a lack of information or the absence of the right words. More often, they stem from reactions, assumptions, and automatic patterns that we do not notice.

This is why I find these experiments so valuable. They rarely provide ready-made answers. Instead, they help us notice what usually remains outside our awareness.

And in my experience, this is where the most meaningful communication work begins — not at the level of techniques, but at the level of how we relate to ourselves, to other people, and to the complexity of human interaction.

If This Approach Resonates With You

Perhaps you have noticed that similar communication challenges keep appearing in different situations. Or that certain conversations leave you feeling drained despite your best efforts. Maybe uncertainty feels difficult to navigate, relationships require more energy than they should, or you find yourself reacting in ways that do not reflect how you would like to show up.

In my individual work with clients, we explore what is happening beneath these experiences: the assumptions, habits, reactions, and communication patterns that shape how we relate to other people. Together, we work toward communication that feels clearer, more grounded, and more sustainable — in professional environments, relationships, and everyday life.