How to Share Insight

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“We teach each other things. People take this for granted, but it’s actually unbelievable.” – Nicholas Christakis

Last weekend, my five-year-old son got two moon balls. They are cratered like the moon and bounce like they are going to leave this atmosphere. That bounce combined with my son’s determination to hit as if he’s aiming for the Green Monster at Fenway Park meant we lost both balls in pretty short order.

He was bummed when we lost the first… and really sad when we lost the second. I sat next to him on the steps and asked, “Do you want to know what I know about being sad.”

“No,” he replied.

It’s all about timing, isn’t it? 🙂 It is one of the keys about sharing insight that I talk with customer experience strategist Karl Baisch about on the How to Share Podcast.

Nicholas Christakis, sociologist from Yale, has this really hopeful view of humans based on our ability to interact and cooperate with others. He says, “We teach each other things. People take this for granted, but it’s actually unbelievable.”

In this episode of ‘How to Share’, Karl and I explore the nuances of how we teach each other things and share insights effectively. We discuss the importance of asking the right questions, the challenges of navigating data, and the significance of context in delivering actionable insights. Our conversation also touches on parenting and how to instill curiosity and critical thinking in children, drawing parallels between data synthesis and everyday experiences.

Here are some takeaways from our conversation:

  • We teach each other things.
  • Real change happens when there’s enough curiosity.
  • Groups have to want an answer to hear it.
  • You gotta share your work product somewhere.
  • You want to avoid analysis paralysis.
  • How do you synthesize it into a story?
  • Insights should breathe new energy and life into anything.
  • You have to contextualize it.
  • You have to ask the right questions.

This is a great episode about the practice of creating insight. Join us as we dig into the who, what, when, where, how and of creating and sharing a-ha moments!

Here’s a short clip from our episode to give you a taste of the great conversation with the bright and engaging Karl Baisch:

Here are some ways you can listen and watch to the full episode:

Please listen, watch, provide feedback and subscribe.

Barbara Nickless on A Voice In The Dark, Online Gaming and The Power of Story – The Life of Try: Personal growth, one try at a time.

In this episode of The Life of Try, host Wynne Leon talks with Wall Street Journal bestselling author Barbara Nickless about her new psychological suspense novel, A Voice in the Dark. Their conversation moves from the dark corners of online gaming and internet manipulation to the real-world vulnerabilities of teenagers, families, and people searching for belonging. Barbara shares how deep research, FBI consultants, and her own curiosity shape her fiction, especially as she writes about FBI profiler Helen Belle, criminal humanist Benedict Hoffman, addiction, trauma, and the question of what draws people toward danger.This thoughtful author interview explores how storytelling can help us understand complicated human experiences, including moral injury, PTSD, addiction, grief, law enforcement, cybercrime, and the healing power of writing. Barbara also reflects on teaching writing to military veterans and civilians, researching dangerous places and difficult subjects, and using narrative to “de-other” people we might otherwise misunderstand. Key Takeaways:→A Voice in the Dark explores the dangers young people can face in online communities, especially when vulnerable teens and young adults are targeted by manipulative influencers.→Storytelling can help us “de-other” people by taking us inside their motivations, histories, and struggles in ways that facts and news stories alone often cannot.→Curiosity is at the heart of Barbara Nickless’s writing process. Her research into online gaming, FBI investigations, addiction, trauma, and moral injury helps make her fiction vivid, compassionate, and grounded in real human experience.→Researching modern crime fiction requires balancing accuracy with readability, particularly when writing about cybercrime, AI, online manipulation, and evolving law enforcement tools.→The conversation highlights a core Life of Try theme: trying begins with curiosity, openness, and a willingness to enter unfamiliar worlds in order to understand ourselves and one another more deeply.If you love conversations about books, personal growth, curiosity, crime fiction, psychological thrillers, resilience, and what it means to keep trying, this episode offers a rich and compassionate look at the stories that help us make sense of ourselves and one another.📘 Order A Voice In the Dark: https://www.amazon.com/Voice-Benedict-Hoffman-Helen-Belle-ebook/dp/B0FTGGHSWL/🌐 Show notes and more inspiration: https://wynneleon.com🔔 Subscribe for more: Subscribe to The Life of Try for more conversations on: personal growth, creativity, reinvention, resilience, writing, and mindset.ABOUT MEHi, I’m Wynne Leon — host of The Life of Try, a personal growth and self-improvement podcast exploring resilience, reinvention, uncertainty, and the courage to keep trying.Through thoughtful interviews, reflective conversations, and real-life stories, I share insights to help you navigate change, get unstuck, and move forward with more intention.🌍 Website: https://wynneleon.com🎥 Watch Next➡️ Letting Go Of Outcomes: The Mindset That Keeps You Moving➡️ 48: How to Get Unstuck: Michael Yang on Saying Yes, Resilience and Coming Alive➡️ How to Finally Write That Book You've Been Dreaming About | Writing Motivation
  1. Barbara Nickless on A Voice In The Dark, Online Gaming and The Power of Story
  2. Embracing What Makes You Different | Kym Gordon Moore
  3. Motive + Means = Opportunity: A Life of Try Story
  4. How Writing Helps Us Survive Chronic Illness and Loss
  5. Near Death, Deep Faith, New Life | Liza Anderson’s Extraordinary Story

Links for this episode:

Karl Baisch on LinkedIn

56 thoughts on “How to Share Insight”

  1. Thanks for sharing.

    I only have one question: Where do you think imagination or an imaginal state fits into the ability or need to share?

    Take care, Julian

    Liked by 1 person

      1. Wynne

        Have you read any of William Blake’s work? If you’re interested, Sir Peter Ackroyd wrote a superb book on his life.

        For me, Blake epitomizes the imaginal state; namely, everything he did in words or his idiosyncratic art lived and came from that space. For us mere mortals, I don’t think we cultivate or take our imagination seriously enough. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that we’ve largely given up on it. If it were otherwise I’d like to think, in a good way, the world would be very different. I have no doubt that if we were to open up our imaginations that the process of sharing, across all vistas of our life, would be vastly improved if only in the lexicon that we chose to deploy.

        Take care, Julian

        Liked by 1 person

      2. What a profound perspective. I just read your recent post about imagination – you are right, we are limited by what we envision. I’ve read some William Blake but appreciate the prod to dig deeper. Thanks, Julian.

        Like

      2. That’s good! He was no doubt very focused on how high he could make the ball go, and not necessarily thinking ahead to how to get the ball back or having it return to him. I remember doing that as a kid with “super-balls” we had. It’s a learning experience to have loss, but a valuable lesson in starting to think ahead and see a bigger picture. As kids we learned quickly to take our superballs to the local schoolyard where we had a better chance of keeping track of them. Loss isn’t always bad if it teaches us a valuable lesson.

        Liked by 1 person

      3. Oh yes – the super balls. I remember those, Tamara! You’re right – we need a wide open place where there are no trees and bushes and no one is around. Hmm, that might be hard to find!

        Like

  3. I love Karl’s point about contextualizing…again and again I find myself coming back to this insight when I’m receiving input I don’t understand. Asking more questions, digging in before drawing conclusions. Great conversation, Wynne! 🥰

    Liked by 1 person

  6. I agree with Jane, timing is everything and some times are not always the best times….. learning happens when we are open to it and that takes time and patience. Mr. D was honest. Maybe he’ll find them, maybe not. But maybe one day he might be able to laugh about it. I am going to find time for the podcast, the right time with a full house.

    Liked by 1 person

  10. As ancient Chinese wisdom tells us, “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” Mr D., on another or future day, will get the message.

    Liked by 1 person

  12. Looking forward to learning about how to share productively, Wynne. Will be listening soon! That recent podcast delving into listening skills offered great tips around that acrostic, SLANT!

    Liked by 1 person

  13. and I do think it is so important for the ‘audience’ to be curious and really want an answer as you said. not just posing a rhetorical question. I probably would have blurted out, ‘maybe it went up to the moon,’ which would not have helped things at all or sorted things out – I have some things to learn, so looking forward to the full conversation.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I was tempted to say the ball went to the moon, for sure, Beth. Good news is that I found one of the missing balls. They’re fun but not really suited to staying around. 🙂

      I like what you say about the audience needing to be curious. Otherwise, it doesn’t really land, does it?

      Liked by 1 person

  14. I agree with Jane, his answer was honest, and I wish more people gave that kind of straightforward response. Some will just say “sure, why not?,” while others go off on a rant like, “I’m not in the mood to hear that…” So good for him! I’m glad you found one of them, which served as a reward for his solid answer. I’m planning to listen to the podcast in the next day or so, but I really liked the one about “Real change happens when there’s enough curiosity.” That’s absolutely true.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I like that insight about real change and curiosity too. It’s one of those things that makes perfect sense when you hear it but I don’t know if I could have said it so concisely before the conversation. Thanks for the comment and for tuning in, Edward!

      Liked by 1 person

  16. What an engaging guest, Wynne! He just dove into that excellent story about having to get access to a colleague’s computer. Love it. I was feeling some old reporter vibes listening to Karl. How do I take what I hear in the interview or lecture I was covering, and find the “high” points that define the whole reason for me covering it? I had to be responsible in sharing facts, but I also needed to distill and find the moments of insight I knew the reader would be interested in. I guess it was part experience and instinct. Thanks, Wynne!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. What an insightful comment, Melanie! Love how you relate this to reporting – you still are making those connections to distill and find insight. Your experience and instincts in action! Thanks for listening and this lovely comment, Melanie!

      Liked by 1 person

  19. Your son’s reply made me laugh, Wynne! You probably didn’t at the time though. 🙂 And you’re right, it’s all about the timing. I love the points about when real change happens and the need to contextualize. Great chat! 💖

    Liked by 1 person

  21. It was very fascinating to geek out with you both on a discussion all about data and the way it manifests in our lives, whether it be with teaching our kids around social media and guarding their data or supporting a client with crunching data to meet their needs.

    It’s mind blowing to think that we are in an age where we are not lacking in data but rather, we are overwhelmed with data, some of which may not be reliable or even hallucinated by AI. It’s somewhat inspiring to think that it is those who are from the arts and the creative fields, such as creative writing, who can serve as the bridge between the data and the nerds with the everyday people.

    Great conversation! 💕

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Oh, I love your take on this, Ab. Such a great point about being overwhelmed by data – especially unstructured data. Thanks for hanging with us as we geeked out, my friend! I appreciate you tuning in!

      Liked by 1 person

  22. Mr. D’s response! 😛 Having met him, I can picture that interaction, and it’s cracking me up. I hope he got over his sadness eventually. Poor little dude. :/

    Liked by 1 person

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