Karthick Gopal

I first heard of the weave in a Joe Rogan podcast.

The famous guest elaborated on his ability to be able to dive in and out of topics while holding them together in a “weave”.

Initially I was impressed but it was the story telling ability not the context of the content that was impressive.

I ended up trying this where I free flowed in my thoughts while giving an answer to a colleague or a friend.

Except when they did it to me I was annoyed with how long they took to get to the point. I had different conclusions forming as they continued talking but most of all they raised issues that I started to worry about that wasn’t part of what we started with.

I recorded myself in one of these and to my horror I realized, while slightly better on staying on track, it was long winded and long drawn and it depended on the level of patience exhibited by the listener, not me.

I have corrected that behaviour a lot but it’s work in progress.

Here’s what helped

1. If you know the answer and it’s two words just say it. Don’t embellish it with literature to sound interesting or intelligent (this isn’t dating advice which might differ).

2. Take a second to have a frame of your answer. It helps particularly when you don’t have an answer for something that’s new.

If someone asked a question and you don’t know the answer instead of finding the answer together take 20-25 seconds to think it through before answering.

3. Don’t figure out a question while asking a question. This is the most annoying part where you hope the other person understands your confusion and clarifies it for you. It’s better to say I have to put more thought into this and I’ll get back to you.

I could expound on this topic a lot more but for now I recommend this exercise, ask yourself a question, take 5 seconds to frame (start with 20 seconds since it’s just you) and then explain within 2 sentences if possible. Or else follow rule 3.

Meandering isn’t as fun as you think if your story telling ability isn’t top notch.

But it often signals confusion and lack of clarity rather than entertainment.

Meandering is great for monologuing not dialogue-ing.