For our very first episode, we sit down with Laura Shaw, Director of Design Research at Xero, to talk about the skill that underpins everything else: communication.

Laura's career path winds from ESL teaching in Japan to philosophy grad school to nonprofit comms to UX writing to research — and at every turn, the thread is the same: figuring out how to make things land. We dig into why the most brilliant work falls flat without the right framing, the most common mistake people make when presenting their work, why research outputs should be treated as products for their audience, and how AI is making workplace communication both clearer and murkier at the same time.

Guest: Laura Shaw, Director of Design Research at Xero

Links & resources mentioned:

• Different communication styles by colour
• Dear Danielle and Dave on Substack: deardanielleanddave.substack.com
• Get in touch: [email protected]

The music you hear are Blue Sea and In Good Hands from #Uppbeat.