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How to Spot Great Communicators in Interviews—Before It’s Too Late · The Science of Leading

• 0:00
  Hey everyone, welcome back to The Science of Leading.
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  I'm Claire Monroe, and I'm here with Edwin Carrington.
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  Today we're diving into something that,
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  honestly, I think gets overlooked way too often-communication in hiring.
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  Edwin, I feel like every job description says "must have strong communication
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  skills," but then, you know, nobody really checks for it.
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  Why is that?
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  That's a good question,
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  Claire.
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  In my experience, organizations tend to focus on technical skills or
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  experience because those are easier to measure.
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  Communication, on the other hand,
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  is a bit slippery.
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  It's subjective, and people assume it'll work itself out.
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  But when it doesn't, the consequences can be severe-missed deadlines,
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  team friction, even losing clients.
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  I've seen it happen more times than I care to admit.
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  Yeah,
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  I mean, I've definitely been there.
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  Early in my career, I was on this project where,
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  honestly, the email threads were just a mess.
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  No one was clear about who was doing what,
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  and the client kept getting different answers from different people.
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  We ended up launching late, and the client was,
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  well, not thrilled.
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  Looking back, it was all just... bad communication.
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  Not a lack of effort or talent,
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  just people not being on the same page.
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  That's a classic example.
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  And it's not rare.
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  The real cost isn't just a delayed launch-it's the erosion of trust,
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  both inside the team and with the client.
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  What's interesting is, even after situations like that,
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  many organizations still don't change how they hire.
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  They might talk about communication,
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  but they don't actually test for it.
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  It's a blind spot, and it can be expensive.
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  So why do you think leaders
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  keep missing it?
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  Is it just that it's hard to measure,
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  or is there something else going on?
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  I think it's a bit of both.
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  There's this assumption that if someone's smart or experienced,
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  they'll naturally communicate well.
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  But that's not always true.
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  And, honestly, a lot of hiring processes are just built for speed-they
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  don't leave room to really dig into how someone communicates under pressure
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  or in a team setting.
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  Yeah, and then you end up with teams that are technically
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  strong but can't actually work together.
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  I guess that's where the real risk is,
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  right?
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  Exactly.
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  You can have all the talent in the world,
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  but if people can't communicate,
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  you're going to run into trouble.
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  It's not just a "nice-to-have"-it's mission-critical.
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  So,
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  let's get practical.
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  If you're actually trying to assess communication in an interview,
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  where do you even start?
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  I mean, there's verbal, written,
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  non-verbal... it's a lot.
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  It is a lot,
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  but it helps to break it down.
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  There are four core methods: verbal,
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  written, non-verbal, and active listening.
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  Each one tells you something different about a candidate.
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  Verbal is about clarity and tone-can they explain complex ideas in a
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  way that makes sense?
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  Written is huge, especially now with so much remote work.
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  If someone can't write a clear email or summary,
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  things fall apart fast.
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  And non-verbal,
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  that's like body language, right?
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  Eye contact, posture, that kind of thing?
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  Exactly.
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  Sometimes what someone doesn't say is just as important as what they
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  do say.
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  Are they engaged?
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  Do their gestures match their words?
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  And then there's active listening-do they actually hear what's being
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  asked, or are they just waiting for their turn to talk?
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  I love that.
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  I mean, I've definitely interviewed people who sounded great,
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  but when you asked a follow-up,
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  it was like... they hadn't really listened at all.
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  So, how do you actually test for these things?
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  Is it just about asking the right questions?
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  Questions are a start,
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  but you need to go further.
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  I'm a big fan of real-time assessments-roleplays,
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  writing tests, even just observing how someone responds to a curveball.
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  Back when I was consulting, we'd use scenario-based interviews.
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  For example, we'd ask a candidate to deliver bad news to a client,
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  right there in the interview.
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  You learn a lot about their adaptability and empathy in those moments.
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  That
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  sounds kind of intense, but I get it.
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  You want to see how they handle pressure,
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  not just how they answer when they've had time to rehearse.
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  Do you ever worry that people get too nervous and it's not a fair test?
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  That's
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  a fair point.
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  You have to balance it.
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  Start with a conversational warm-up,
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  get them comfortable, and then move into more structured or high-pressure
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  scenarios.
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  The goal isn't to trip them up-it's to see how they communicate when
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  things aren't perfectly scripted.
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  And honestly, even how they handle a little bit of stress tells you something
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  about their communication style.
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  And what about written communication?
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  Do you actually give people a writing test?
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  Absolutely.
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  It doesn't have to be complicated.
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  Ask them to write a follow-up email,
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  or summarize a meeting.
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  You're looking for clarity, structure,
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  and tone.
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  If they can't communicate clearly in writing,
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  that's a red flag-especially in roles where remote or async work is the
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  norm.
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  I feel like a lot of people skip that step,
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  but it makes so much sense.
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  And non-verbal-do you just watch for things like eye contact and posture?
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  Yes,
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  but with some caution.
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  Non-verbal cues can be cultural,
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  so you have to consider context.
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  But generally, you're looking for alignment-does their body language
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  match their words?
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  Are they present, or just performing?
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  So,
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  it's really about layering all these observations together,
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  not just relying on one thing.
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  Exactly.
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  The best communicators show up across all these dimensions-not just in
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  how they talk, but how they listen,
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  write, and engage.
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  Okay, so let's talk about tools.
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  I know OAD Team has this data-driven approach to evaluating soft skills
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  and communication fit.
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  How does that actually work in practice?
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  OAD's approach is all about going
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  beyond gut instinct.
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  They use behavioral analysis and scientifically backed surveys to measure
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  communication traits-things like adaptability,
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  empathy, and how someone fits with your team's style.
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  It's not just about whether someone can communicate,
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  but whether they'll communicate well with your people.
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  So,
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  it's not just "can you talk," it's "can you talk in a way that works
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  for this team." That's really interesting.
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  And I read that there are seven interview tactics for high-pressure,
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  real-world hiring.
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  Can you walk me through a couple of those?
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  Sure.
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  Some of the key tactics include using open-ended behavioral questions,
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  running real-time roleplays, and giving candidates a short writing challenge.
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  You also want to observe non-verbal cues,
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  test for active listening, and see how they adapt their communication
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  for different audiences.
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  And finally, leave space for them to ask you questions-what they ask
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  can be just as revealing as how they answer.
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  I love that last one.
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  Sometimes the best insight comes from the questions candidates ask,
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  not just their answers.
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  And I guess, when you combine all these methods,
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  you get a much clearer picture of how someone will actually fit into
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  the team, right?
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  That's exactly it.
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  When you integrate behavioral analysis and communication measurement,
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  you're not just hiring for skills-you're hiring for compatibility and
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  culture.
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  That's what leads to stronger,
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  more resilient teams.
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  So, if you're listening and you're thinking,
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  "Wow, we really don't do any of this in our hiring process,"-don't worry,
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  you're not alone.
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  But it sounds like even a few small changes can make a big difference.
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  Absolutely.
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  Start small-add a writing test,
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  try a roleplay, pay closer attention to how candidates listen and respond.
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  Over time, those changes add up.
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  And if you want to go deeper, tools like OAD can help you measure what
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  really matters.
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  And if you want to go deeper...Check out o-a-d-dot-a-i.
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  Their
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  tools make this stuff way easier-and they've got behavioral assessments
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  that actually work.
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  You can book a free demo and just see what fits.
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  That's
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  right.
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  It's all about hiring smarter-and building teams that actually communicate.
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  Alright,
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  I think that's a wrap.
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  Edwin-thank you,
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  as always.
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  That was packed with gold.
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  Thanks,
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  Claire.
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  And remember-communication isn't a luxury.
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  It's a necessity.
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  Alright folks, we'll see you next time on The Science of Leading.