The way I communicate is constantly changing.

This becomes visible in my work on a technical project where AI is part of my daily life. I am currently working on it alone.

What is changing is not only what I say, but how much, when and with what limits.

This is far from finished. But I notice that something is happening.

I Have Always Talked Too Much

This is not new.

When I have an idea, I want to deliver everything at once:

  • How I came to it
  • What I have already tried
  • What the alternatives are
  • Why those do not work either

That feels like thorough thinking.

But most of the time something else happens: the other person nods somehow. The conversation drifts. The idea fizzles out.

For a long time I dismissed this as “thinking out loud.” As if that were fine.

The Mirror Does Not Flatter

When I started working with AI, this exact pattern resurfaced.

I write long messages. Mix questions with context with half-decisions. Assume the AI understands what is in my head.

The answers are broad. Do not hit the point. Drift off in directions I did not mean at all.

At first I thought: the AI does not understand me.

Then it became clear to me: I am unclear.

The AI is a mirror. It smooths nothing. It does not add from context. It responds precisely to what I say.

And when that is unclear, the answer is also unclear.

Only it becomes visible much faster than with people.

Understanding and Expressing — Not the Same Thing

Working on this, I notice: I am mixing two different things.

Understanding — this is internal, open, exploratory:

  • Following thoughts
  • Searching for patterns
  • Weighing options
  • Allowing uncertainty

Expressing — this should be external, precise, bounded:

  • One question
  • One decision
  • One concrete request

When I do not separate these two, my communication becomes a stream of my thinking process.

And that is not helpful for anyone. Not for the AI. Not for people.

I am only just learning this.

Keep It Simple

In my work there is a principle: Keep It Simple. KISS.

I understand it differently now than I used to.

It is not about thinking simply. Complex problems remain complex. The exploration can be broad.

It is about keeping the expression simple.

Internally: as complex as necessary. Externally: as simple as possible.

What I communicate becomes deliberately “boring.”

“Boring” here means:

  • Predictable
  • Bounded
  • Easy to respond to

Drawing that boundary — that is the real work. And I am still in the middle of it.

Talk Less, Say More

Slowly I notice: I talk less.

Not because I have less to say.

But because I wait until I can say it clearly.

Instead of listing all the options, I formulate a stable request. A precise question. A bounded statement.

The answers get better. The conversations more sustainable.

That applies to AI. But not only.

Effect in Conversations

I am currently working a lot alone. That makes changes all the more noticeable when I speak with people.

I notice earlier:

  • When I am saying too much at once
  • When I am assuming shared understanding
  • When I am speaking faster than meaning can form

Bounded statements create space. Follow-up questions become more precise. Misunderstandings become rarer.

The signal is always the same: when things get complicated, what is usually missing is simplicity.

Clear statements. Bounded scope. Room for a response.

This has a stabilising effect — without turning conversations into explanations or debates.

Discipline Instead of Daily Form

I do not function the same every day. In the past, my communication was a mirror of my state of mind: when I was restless, my sentences became restless too.

Today I have learned to separate these.

Inside: it may search, doubt, and swirl.

Outside: I send only when the message is clear.

I think longer before I speak. The result is more stability. For me and for whoever I am talking with.

This Continues

The process is not finished. Not by a long way.

I still explain too much. I still release thoughts too early. I still notice friction only afterward.

But I notice it faster. And I correct more easily.

AI is not a teacher. It does not deliver solutions.

It is only a mirror.

KISS and “boring” are not goals. They are boundary conditions I keep returning to.

Far from finished. But on the way.

By René Jochum and Claude (Anthropic). License: CC-BY-4.0.