You want people to find you interesting? Stop talking. The most interesting person in any room is the one who's actually listening, and most professionals don't know the difference between being quiet and truly hearing someone.

In this solo episode of Conversations That Count, David Shaft breaks down why silence is the most underrated communication skill in business and relationships. He walks through the Socrates three question test for anything you're about to say, what a barber taught him in college about saying less, and why the professionals who listen first are the ones who solve the most problems and build the most trust.

• The three questions Socrates used before he'd hear anyone out, and how to use them to filter everything you say at work and in life
• Why most conversations go nowhere because both people are just waiting for their turn to talk instead of actually listening
• How active listening turned David from a salesperson into a problem solver, and why that shift is the fastest path to building credibility in any industry

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ConversationsThatCount-CTC

New episodes of Conversations That Count every Tuesday and Thursday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. Follow on Spotify so you never miss an episode.

Full episodes, show notes, and resources at ctcpodcast.media

Free Communication Playbook with 10 frameworks and scripts to communicate like a pro: https://conversations-that-count.kit.com/e7fa86a708

The best baseball hitters in history miss the ball seven out of ten times. That record gets you into the Hall of Fame. So why are most professionals terrified of failing even once?

In this solo episode of Conversations That Count, David Shaft makes the case that failure is the single fastest way to become a better communicator, a more interesting person, and someone people actually want to talk to. He shares the story of a colleague who followed life's playbook perfectly, lost everything, and came back as the most interesting person in the room. Plus what golfing for the first time taught David about connecting with people he never would have met otherwise.

• Why the person who's never failed has nothing interesting to say, and how trying new things gives you stories, empathy, and relatability that no amount of playing it safe ever will
• The Denzel Washington speech that changed how David thinks about regret, and why the scariest thing isn't failing but living with dreams you never chased
• How failure in one area of life builds communication skills in every other area, from reading people to solving problems to knowing when to laugh at yourself

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ConversationsThatCount-CTC

New episodes of Conversations That Count every Tuesday and Thursday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. Follow on Spotify so you never miss an episode.

Full episodes, show notes, and resources at ctcpodcast.media

Free Communication Playbook with 10 frameworks and scripts to communicate like a pro: https://conversations-that-count.kit.com/e7fa86a708

A bad car accident took David Shaft off his feet for months. No conversations, no team, no daily interactions. That silence made one thing clear: most people have already stopped communicating, and they didn't need a crash to get there.

In this solo episode, David shares the real story behind Conversations That Count. Why a director of banking who leads 40 people and built his career on communication decided to start a podcast, and what he wants every listener to walk away with.

• How months of isolation after a serious accident revealed a communication problem most professionals don't realize they have
• Why David believes nothing meaningful has ever started without one person communicating with another, and what that means for your career, your relationships, and your daily life
• The mission behind every episode: learn from professionals across sales, healthcare, politics, and every industry about what it actually takes to communicate at a higher level

Connect with David: instagram.com/davidshaftofficial | linkedin.com/in/davidshaft

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ConversationsThatCount-CTC

New episodes of Conversations That Count every Tuesday and Thursday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. Follow on Spotify so you never miss an episode.

Full episodes, show notes, and resources at ctcpodcast.media

When every model in the room is beautiful, the one who communicates wins the room. Savanna Smith figured that out at 20 years old.

Savanna Smith is a professional model who went from wanting to be famous her whole life to booking clients in under eight months, not by being the prettiest person on set, but by being the one who actually talks to people.

• Why introducing yourself to every person in the room, even the assistant, even the secretary, automatically sets the tone and breaks the ice before you say a single word about business
• The 90/10 rule Savanna uses in every conversation: 90% listening, 10% talking, especially when the other person knows something you don't
• What a vocal coach told her at 16 that changed how she communicates in every interaction: be intentional about why you're saying what you're saying

Connect with Savanna: https://www.instagram.com/imsavannas/ | https://linktr.ee/savanna.com

Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ConversationsThatCount-CTC

New episodes of Conversations That Count every Tuesday and Thursday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. Follow on Spotify so you never miss an episode.

Full episodes, show notes, and resources at ctcpodcast.media

Free Communication Playbook with 10 frameworks and scripts to communicate like a pro: https://conversations-that-count.kit.com/e7fa86a708

97% of Americans don't have real goals. They have wishes. And most New Year's resolutions are dead by Q2 because there was never a plan behind them in the first place.

In this solo episode of Conversations That Count, David Shaft explains why he stopped believing in resolutions and started treating his year like a business with four fiscal quarters. He walks through exactly how he's structuring his own growth plan for the year, starting with enrolling in a Dale Carnegie course for Q1 and hiring a business leadership coach for Q2 and beyond. If you've ever set a goal in January and forgotten it by March, this episode gives you a framework to actually finish what you start.

• Why most resolutions fail: they're goals without a plan, and a goal without a plan is just a dream that slowly turns into a lie you keep telling yourself
• How thinking in quarters instead of years gives you built in checkpoints so you catch yourself slipping in Q2 instead of waking up disappointed in Q4
• The real reason David invested in Dale Carnegie and a leadership coach this year, and why the accountability structure matters more than the content itself

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ConversationsThatCount-CTC

New episodes of Conversations That Count every Tuesday and Thursday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. Follow on Spotify so you never miss an episode.

Full episodes, show notes, and resources at ctcpodcast.media

Free Communication Playbook with 10 frameworks and scripts to communicate like a pro: https://conversations-that-count.kit.com/e7fa86a708