The Psychology of Great Conversations: What The Chair Taught Me About Personality and Communication
How a basement studio experiment revealed the secrets of authentic workplace communication
Back in 2010, in our Greenwich basement flat, we accidentally created a masterclass in applied psychology. What started as "The Chair" – a simple interview series – became a fascinating study in how personality, environment, and creative communication combine to unlock remarkable insights from remarkable people.
Looking back through the lens of my work with personality and play at My True Talent, I can see how those early experiments contained all the elements that now form the foundation of effective workplace communication.
The Personality Puzzle: Understanding What Makes People Tick
Every great conversation starts with understanding the person across from you. With Ruth Elkins as our presenter – a journalist with The Times – we learned that the best interviewers aren't just skilled questioners; they're intuitive personality readers.
Ruth had an uncanny ability to adapt her approach to each guest's communication style:
With Toby Young (journalist and broadcaster), she matched his quick wit and media savvy, creating a rapid-fire exchange that brought out his sharpest insights.
With John Mitchinson (co-creator of QI, founder of Unbound.com), she tapped into his natural curiosity and love of knowledge, turning the interview into a mutual exploration of ideas.
With Peter Wardell (magician), she understood that his profession was built on misdirection and revelation, so she created space for him to demonstrate rather than just explain.
This wasn't accidental – it was personality in action. Ruth instinctively understood what we now know from psychometric research: that people communicate best when they feel understood and can express themselves in their natural style.
The Power of Psychological Safety
What made The Chair work wasn't just the questions – it was the environment we created. In that simple basement setup, something magical happened: we stripped away the performance pressure that usually accompanies interviews and created what psychologists call "psychological safety."
Our guests – Chris (Wolfgang) Wild (creator of The Retronaut), Julia Macmillan (founder of Toy Boy Warehouse), and Stewart Townsend (co-founder of The Alternative School) – all shared insights they might never have revealed in a traditional corporate setting.
Why? Because we'd created conditions where:
There was no judgment, only curiosity
Mistakes and vulnerability were welcome
The focus was on authentic expression, not polished performance
People could think and reflect without rushing to fill silence
These are exactly the conditions that unlock creativity and honest communication in the workplace.
Play as a Communication Tool
Looking back, The Chair was essentially structured play. We took the serious business of interviewing and turned it into something more exploratory and creative. The format itself was playful:
One chair, one conversation – a simple constraint that sparked creativity
No scripts, just curiosity – allowing for spontaneous discovery
Time to think – giving ideas space to develop naturally
Focus on stories, not facts – encouraging narrative and personal connection
This playful approach didn't diminish the seriousness of the content – it enhanced it. When people feel safe to explore ideas creatively, they share insights that formal structures simply can't access.
The Lessons for Modern Workplace Communication
Each of our six guests revealed different aspects of how personality and play combine to create powerful communication:
Toby Young showed how understanding media psychology can transform how we share ideas.
John Mitchinson demonstrated that curiosity itself is a form of play – and that the best teams are built on shared intellectual exploration.
Wolfgang Wild revealed how creative constraints (like focusing on historical photography) can unlock entirely new ways of seeing and sharing.
Peter Wardell taught us that the principles of magic – attention, misdirection, and revelation – apply to all forms of engaging communication.
Julia Macmillan showed how understanding your audience's real personality and needs can disrupt entire industries.
Stewart Townsend challenged us to think about how play and creativity can transform learning and development.
What This Means for Your Team
The Chair taught me that great communication isn't about techniques or tools – it's about creating conditions where people's natural personalities can shine whilst feeling safe to be creative and exploratory.
In today's workplace, this translates to:
Understanding personality differences: When team members understand each other's communication styles, collaboration becomes more natural and productive.
Creating psychological safety: Teams perform best when people feel safe to share ideas, make mistakes, and explore creative solutions.
Using play as a tool: Structured play isn't frivolous – it's a powerful way to unlock creativity, build relationships, and solve complex problems.
Focusing on authentic connection: The most effective leaders and teams are those who can communicate authentically, adapting their style to connect with different personalities.
The Ongoing Experiment
The Chair was just the beginning of my exploration into how personality and play transform communication. Over three seasons, each iteration taught new lessons about the psychology of authentic conversation and the power of creative approaches to serious business challenges.
What started as a simple interview series became a laboratory for understanding how great communication really works – not through scripts or strategies, but through genuine human connection, psychological insight, and the courage to play with new ways of expressing ideas.
In our work with teams and leaders today, we apply these same principles: understanding personality, creating safety, embracing play, and focusing on authentic connection. Because whether you're in a basement studio or a boardroom, the fundamentals of great communication remain the same.
Interested in how personality insights and creative play can transform communication in your organisation? Discover more about our approach to improving workplace relationships and performance at My True Talent.