Raymond's User Manual

Communication and Expression

4 min read

In the AI era, communication has become a central discipline. If your written expression is poor, AI cannot correctly understand what you mean, and the results will naturally be poor.

My Interpretation (Wisdom)

After several years of running a remote team, my deepest realization is that communication ability is not the same as being articulate. You may speak well, but if the other person does not receive what you actually meant to convey, the communication has failed.

Remote work magnifies this issue. You cannot solve a problem by walking over to someone’s desk and saying one sentence. Every communication must be structured: think through what you want, what the other person needs to know, and which format will communicate it most effectively.

I have found that good communication has three levels. First, structured expression lets the other person understand what you need in one pass. Second, understand cognitive blind spots and recognize what you assume someone knows but they may not. Third, choose the right communication format: not everything requires a meeting; most things can be handled better in a document.

Strategy and Methods (Knowledge)

TRIRO Principles

A five-element framework for communicating effectively with AI: Task, Role, Iterate, Reference, and Output. Stop memorizing prompts. Effective prompting is not about applying a formula, but expressing a need clearly. Give AI a clear goal and context so it can reach its potential and turn an ambiguous question into an actionable plan.

Source: Raymond’s original framework.

Johari Window

A four-quadrant model of self-awareness developed by Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham. Combine it with AI tools to explore blind and hidden areas in depth. Practicing questions and being willing to share plans that have not yet been acted on can reduce blind spots. Use AI for two-way exploration to support thought and learning. The ability to ask questions is key to personal growth.

Asynchronous Communication

Use 80% individual focus and 20% team coordination. Replace most meetings with a document culture, separating information-sharing from decision-making. Reserve meetings for real-time decisions, brainstorming, and major milestones; handle other situations with documents. Set aside deep-work periods—this is essential for an effective remote team.

Source: Raymond’s experience running remote teams.

Related Content (Information)

Course Scripts

  • 20 | How to use AI well: stop memorizing prompts (TRIRO principles)
  • 15 | How to ask good questions: the secret to strong self-learning (Johari Window)
  • 31 | How to reduce meetings and still move projects forward: asynchronous communication

Articles and Newsletters

  • 2023-10-10: Asynchronous communication is a skill everyone should learn: the key to regaining focus at work, not only for remote workers
  • 2024-02-04: A practical New Year’s guide to relationships: four elements of a thank-you letter, three ways to respond to elders’ concern, and two gift-giving principles
  • 2023-11-27: I’m not good at writing; can I speak instead? Differences in purpose and strategy between writing and speaking for creator businesses
  • 2023-09-19: The science of popularity: if you are controversial, you should be glad
  • 2020-11-01: In digital life, replying immediately tells people your time is not that important
  • 2023-11-09: Stay away from strange people around you: focus on the right people and proactively create a social circle
  • 2022-12-31: What I learned about speaking logic and relationships from Chen Ming
  • 2024-08-30: Use Notion for renovation and communicate with designers and vendors with zero mistakes: a free Notion template
  • 2024-03-18: ChatGPT tutorial: learn these prompt principles to use AI tools; the TRIRO prompting framework
  • 2021-06-15: Understand the difference between OKR and KPI: how goal management helps companies communicate effectively
  • 2020-11-14: S01E42: Three workplace actions for introverts to strengthen their advantages
  • 2021-03-24: Analysis of pianist Li Yuanling’s livestream outburst: preparation for expertise and performance, and handling others’ judgments
  • 2021-02-06: How to talk with parents and relatives at New Year: respond to their concern and put them at ease
  • 2022-12-29: How a quiet, introverted person can gain a manager’s trust and exceed expectations in a fully remote workplace — interview with Hanyu, Digital Life Atlas #06
  • 2018-07-11: Tunghai University 30th Joint Club and Department Student Association Leadership Training: Communication and Expression _2149222961759243

Social Posts

Data

  • 🔖 “The purpose of communication is the relationship, not displaying how wronged you feel.”

Graph View

Backlinks