In 1999, a NASA mission to Mars failed … not from a technical glitch, but because people weren’t talking to each other. Psychology professor Tessa West explores how assumptions, overlooked details and “hidden languages” can quietly sabotage even the smartest teams — and explores the small shifts in communication that can make a big difference in how information lands. (Recorded at TEDxCatawba on June 14, 2025)
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@GodlovesElijah
February 1, 2026 at 11:03 am
First❤
@joeymason9483
February 1, 2026 at 11:04 am
Nice spelling error in the thumbnail
@ZombieDiscoBall3
February 1, 2026 at 4:40 pm
That is in another video “Ways to fool yourself to feel superior” 👌
@MusfiqulMurad-j1e
February 1, 2026 at 11:23 am
From Bangladesh <3
@sebsanmusic
February 1, 2026 at 11:28 am
It is difficult to concentrate on what is being said while these terrible AI images are shown -.-
@ExistentialWolf
February 1, 2026 at 11:37 am
Bait is so
@David-so6kv
February 1, 2026 at 11:37 am
I love communicating and sphelling
@NickArcade
February 1, 2026 at 12:02 pm
Hmmmmm deicsions, deicsions…
@nrique_s
February 1, 2026 at 12:31 pm
“Create a thumbnail that reads How To Communicate Big Deicsions”
@jenny-allan
February 1, 2026 at 1:50 pm
The hidden languages point is really interesting.
@thomasw9905
February 1, 2026 at 2:33 pm
Ich verstehe nur „Bahnhof“. 🤷🏼♂️
@FiatLux2025
February 1, 2026 at 2:44 pm
That was one of the mostly poorly communicated TED talks ever – a combination of statements of the bleedin’ obvious and pure gibberish.
@Jonny-on-YouTube
February 1, 2026 at 3:06 pm
Did anyone even bother to check the thumbnail spelling?
@misserrelax
February 1, 2026 at 3:13 pm
A powerful reminder that failure often isn’t about intelligence or technology, but about how we communicate. This really stays with you.
@paulwilson8672
February 1, 2026 at 6:52 pm
It is the Cool Hand Luke problem. “What we have here is a failure to communicate.”
@paulwilson8672
February 1, 2026 at 7:09 pm
I’ve worked at a lot of different places. Every time to you go to another company you have to learn a foreign language. If you don’t have an acronym list it is hard to figure out the decoder ring. The military has training for something like this, but may not realize it. It is the Marine Corps 6th General order. 6. To receive, obey, and pass on to the sentry who relieves me, all orders from the Commanding Officer, Officer of the Day, Officers, and Non-Commissioned Officers of the guard only. It is call passing the word. Also, in Extreme Ownership they talk about effectively communicating and following up to make sure the word is passed.
@iainmackenzieUK
February 1, 2026 at 8:04 pm
what does “tracking” mean?
@tendEcUptLove94TSerie
February 2, 2026 at 12:54 am
As a contractor I’ve had to learn how to adapt very quickly. You learn straight away what are the major problems in the business running successfully.
@tcagamervn
February 2, 2026 at 2:10 am
Goodđ
@michael_pilot
February 2, 2026 at 7:10 am
Sometimes communication is difficult because the company is always looking for the cheapest option. So the good people leave. And the people hired don’t speak the company’s language well (English, German etc…) and aren’t engaged. So it’s pointless to think we need to improve communication when we’re dealing with a problem of skills and social abilities, and a complete inability to progress
@michael_pilot
February 2, 2026 at 7:16 am
The problem is finding a balance. Certain standards create a common vocabulary, which is good. Except that sometimes it’s so verbose that it becomes useless. And sometimes people who are very picky about words do so because they struggle with the work itself, so they comfortably remain at an easier level…
@user-fk8zw5js2p
February 2, 2026 at 8:20 am
If you knew what was meant by, “How to Communicate Big Deicsions,” then communication was accomplished regardless of the spelling mistake and we all can move one.
🤣
@user-fk8zw5js2p
February 2, 2026 at 8:26 am
One way to tell this was a good TED talk is because people trying to find something wrong with it can’t find anything wrong with what the speaker actually said.
@MrRodrigues520
February 2, 2026 at 8:39 am
I believe it’s ‘teams’, not ‘Teams’. It’s not about the Microsoft product.
@snake698
February 3, 2026 at 1:18 pm
Which teams fail?
@irritablysavvy
February 3, 2026 at 6:43 pm
My probe always explodes when it hits the atmosphere. It’s just science.
@jurjenbos228
February 4, 2026 at 4:14 pm
Yes, the talk could be better. But the message is very important and recognizable