Description
Join Matt Abrahams, a lecturer of Strategic Communication at Stanford Graduate School of Business, every Tuesday as he sits down with experts in the field to discuss real-world challenges.
How do I send my message clearly when put on the spot? How do I write emails to get my point across? How can I easily convey complex information? How do I manage my reputation? Whether you’re giving a toast or presenting in a meeting, communication is critical to success in business and in life.
Think Fast, Talk Smart provides the tools, techniques, and best practices to help you communicate more effectively.
Learn more & sign up for our eNewsletter: https://fastersmarter.io
Episodes
- 2024 / 12 / 17174. Fix Meetings: Transform Gatherings Into Meaningful MomentsTurn any meeting or get-together into a chance for deep connection and collaboration.Whether you’re holding a team meeting or hosting a family get-together, the success of any gathering, says Priya Parker,...
- 2024 / 12 / 10173. Rethinks: Surviving the HolidaysMaster holiday conversations.The holiday season is a time of joy, connection, and, occasionally, communication challenges and as we gather with family, friends, and colleagues, effective communication becomes...
- 2024 / 12 / 5Between the Lines: In Storytelling, Simplify to Amplify - Premium SamplerVisit fastersmarter.io/premium to become a Premium subscriber."Start with the action moment or right before it," advises Hilary Price whose one-panel comic strips offer insights far beyond humor—they’re...
- 2024 / 12 / 3172. Bring Mindfulness to Your CommunicationMindfulness can transform your communication and your career.When we react, our instincts and impulses are in the driver’s seat. But when we take the time to reflect, that’s when Marshall Goldsmith says we...
- 2024 / 11 / 28171. Advice from Nontraditional Storytellers Part 2Become a Faster Smarter Supporter by joining TFTS Premium.Make your audience a part of the story.Great storytellers don't just relay information — they create experiences. As magicians, TikTok influencers,...
- 2024 / 11 / 26170. Advice from Nontraditional Storytellers Part 1Become a Faster Smarter Supporter by joining TFTS Premium.Wisdom from the witness stand to the newsstand.The best storytellers might not call themselves storytellers at all. But from litigating in the...
- 2024 / 11 / 19169. Don't Be a ZQ: Make Your Conversations Count​​ What makes a great conversation?“Many of us dread small talk,” says Harvard Business School professor and author Alison Wood Brooks. Yet she believes these everyday exchanges are the gateway to deeper...
- 2024 / 11 / 14Launching: Think Fast Talk Smart PremiumIntroducing our new Premium membership, designed to enhance communication and career skills with expanded content and tools. Enjoy early access to live events, AMAs (Ask Matt Anything), EQuips—Essential Quick...
- 2024 / 11 / 12168. How Story Can Change Everything in Your CareerJoin TFTS Premium - Launching this weekMake your message memorable.“Immediately forgettable” — that’s how Matthew Dicks describes most of the business communication that he encounters. If you want to be...
- 2024 / 11 / 5167. Hollywood Lessons For Successful CommunicationBe the first to hear about TFTS Premium -> Sign up for our emailBeyond the Big Screen.Every business meeting, product launch, or marketing communication has something in common with your favorite movie: they...
- 2024 / 10 / 29166. Why Relying on Talent Alone Will Fail YouWhy practice is the key to success.If there’s anyone who knows about performing under pressure, it’s former NFL quarterback Andrew Luck. Whether playing in front of thousands or presenting to ten, his key to...
- 2024 / 10 / 22165. Building Your Personal Brand Makes a Promise: Are You Keeping It?Create more meaningful communication by defining your audience. Before you even think about communicating a message, defining a brand, or developing a strategy, Seth Godin says you have to ask these...
- 2024 / 10 / 15164. Rethink: Using "Pre-suasion" to Influence OthersBecome a Faster Smarter Supporter by joining TFTS Premium.The inner workings of social influence and persuasion.Want to change someone’s mind? First, explains Robert Cialdini, you have to change their...
- 2024 / 10 / 15164. Best of: Using "Pre-suasion" to Influence OthersThe inner workings of social influence and persuasion.Want to change someone’s mind? First, explains Robert Cialdini, you have to change their framing.For Cialdini, the Regent's Professor Emeritus of...
- 2024 / 10 / 8163. Is Your Audience Ignoring You? How Authenticity Creates ConnectionHow acceptance and authenticity can transform all of our interactions.What’s the key to experiencing deeper connection in our communication? According to Alan Alda, it starts with acceptance — of others and...
- 2024 / 10 / 1162. Unlock Career Opportunities: How to Make the Right MovesBeing present in the moment and staying open to whatever unfolds.We all want to lead lives and careers full of joy and fulfillment. Maggie Baird certainly has, and the key, she says, is to stay open to new...
- 2024 / 9 / 26Bonus episode: How to Manage Speaking Anxiety the Think Faster, Talk Smarter WayGain control over your speaking and excel in your communication.For the first anniversary of his book Think Faster, Talk Smarter, Matt Abrahams shares strategies from the first chapter, focusing on managing...
- 2024 / 9 / 26Bonus: How to Manage Speaking Anxiety the Think Faster, Talk Smarter WayGain control over your speaking and excel in your communication.For the first anniversary of his book Think Faster, Talk Smarter, Matt Abrahams shares strategies from the first chapter, focusing on managing...
- 2024 / 9 / 24161. Do Your Homework: Know What to Say by Knowing Who You’re Talking ToKnow your audience and tailor the message for them.In high-stakes communication, every word counts. For Jen Psaki, that means knowing who she’s talking to — so she knows just what to say.As the former White...
- 2024 / 9 / 17160. Best of: How to Communicate Your GameplanWhy organizational strategy can be both top-down and bottom-up.As Professor Jesper Sørensen sees it, a winning strategy is the result of conversations, not commands, and that strategy can be directed from the...
- 2024 / 9 / 17160. Rethink: How to Communicate Your GameplanBecome a Faster Smarter Supporter by joining TFTS Premium.Why organizational strategy can be both top-down and bottom-up.As Professor Jesper Sørensen sees it, a winning strategy is the result of...
- 2024 / 9 / 10159. Earn Your Audience: You Can’t Lead If No One’s ListeningWhat it takes to develop as a leader.Great leaders and great communicators aren't born, they're made. That's why John Hennessy and Tina Seelig, directors of Stanford University’s Knight-Hennessy Scholars, are...
- 2024 / 9 / 3158. Hope for Cynics: Building Trusting Relationships through Communication“Acts of trust are the bedrock on which relationships are formed.”There’s a lot in the world to make us cynical about other people and their motives and intentions. But by “trusting loudly,” Professor Jamil...
- 2024 / 8 / 27157. Communicating the Future: Defining Where We Want AI to Take UsArtificial intelligence can now do a lot of things. But if you’re worried about it taking your place as a communicator, Russ Altman says you need to question why you’re communicating in the first place.Altman...
- 2024 / 8 / 20156. Creative Communication: How Our Design Choices Illustrate Our ValuesAs a designer, Scott Doorley is interested in how humans create the world around them. It’s a conversation, he says, that starts with the question: What kind of world do we want?Doorley is the academic and...
- 2024 / 8 / 13155. Can We Be Candid? How to Communicate Clearly and DirectlyNavigators know the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. In charting a course through communication, Susan Rice says the best route is often the most direct.Throughout her career at the...
- 2024 / 8 / 6154. Best of: Communicating Better as a Leader"In a leadership role, so much more of communication is about connecting with people, establishing shared humanity, motivating them, inspiring them, sometimes challenging them." On August 1,...
- 2024 / 8 / 6154. Rethink: Communicating Better as a LeaderBecome a Faster Smarter Supporter by joining TFTS Premium."In a leadership role, so much more of communication is about connecting with people, establishing shared humanity, motivating them, inspiring them,...
- 2024 / 7 / 30153. Listen Up, Leaders: A Record-Setting Coach’s Guide to CommunicationTara VanDerveer has more wins than any other coach in NCAA basketball history. But as she says, motivating and leading teams isn’t about barking orders. Communication, she says, “It starts, number one, with...
- 2024 / 7 / 23152. Fix Your Communication: Why It’s About Connection Over Perfection“Anything is fixable,” say Frances Frei and Anne Morriss. As cohosts of the Fixable podcast, they’re typically the ones doing the fixing, but on this special episode, they turn to Matt Abrahams for tips on...
- 2024 / 7 / 16151. Get Hired: How the Right Communication Can Advance Your CareerWhether winning over a hiring manager or winning new business, career success often hinges on how we communicate. That’s why Andrew Seaman is on a mission to help people find the words that work — to get...
- 2024 / 7 / 9150. Quick Thinks: Communication Tips from the Classroom and Around the WorldSometimes, what’s communicated to us can have a big impact on how we communicate to others. This “Quick Thinks” episode explores some of the best communication advice — from experts and Think Fast, Talk Smart...
- 2024 / 7 / 9150. Communication Tips from the Classroom and Around the WorldSometimes, what’s communicated to us can have a big impact on how we communicate to others. This episode explores some of the best communication advice — from experts and Think Fast, Talk Smart listeners...
- 2024 / 7 / 2149. Best of: How to Take Risks in Your Communication, Relationships, and Career“What people regret over time are things they didn’t do. They didn’t take that trip, they didn’t ask that person out on a date. They didn’t start that business,” says former political speechwriter and author...
- 2024 / 7 / 2149. Rethink: How to Take Risks in Your Communication, Relationships, and CareerBecome a Faster Smarter Supporter by joining TFTS Premium.“What people regret over time are things they didn’t do. They didn’t take that trip, they didn’t ask that person out on a date. They didn’t start that...
- 2024 / 6 / 25148. Conviction and Compassion: How to Have Hard ConversationsIn our personal and professional lives, some conversations are harder than others. To navigate the difficulties of discussing what matters most, Professor Irv Grousbeck says we need the right balance of...
- 2024 / 6 / 18147. Disrupt Yourself: How to Innovate Who You Are and Become Who You Can BeInnovation and disruption aren’t just for organizations. According to Whitney Johnson, we can find new possibilities for personal and professional growth — by disrupting ourselves.As an executive coach,...
- 2024 / 6 / 11146. Self-Talk Refresh: Change Your Internal Dialogue to Communicate Better with OthersStress can get in the way of our communication with others. To manage our stress, psychologist Jenny Taitz says, we first need to adjust the conversations that we have with ourselves.Taitz is an assistant...
- 2024 / 6 / 11146. Stress Resets: How to Change Your Internal Dialogue to Communicate BetterStress can get in the way of our communication with others. To manage our stress, psychologist Jenny Taitz says, we first need to adjust the conversations that we have with ourselves.Taitz is an assistant...
- 2024 / 6 / 4145. Best of: The Art of Negotiation, How to Get More of What You WantWhether we realize it or not, we negotiate everyday. But when we approach these situations as a win-or-lose battle, we’re already showing resistance, and setting ourselves up for difficulty. But what if you...
- 2024 / 6 / 4145. Rethink: The Art of Negotiation, How to Get More of What You WantBecome a Faster Smarter Supporter by joining TFTS Premium.Whether we realize it or not, we negotiate everyday. But when we approach these situations as a win-or-lose battle, we’re already showing resistance,...
- 2024 / 5 / 28144. Communicating Through Conflict: How to Get Along with AnyoneMany of us would rank getting along with colleagues as an important aspect of work, but, as Amy Gallo explains, relationships devoid of disagreement can actually be less productive. “While our natural...
- 2024 / 5 / 28144. Communicating Through Conflict: How to Reframe DisagreementsMany of us would rank getting along with colleagues as an important aspect of work, but, as Amy Gallo explains, relationships devoid of disagreement can actually be less productive. “While our natural...
- 2024 / 5 / 21143. Adopting a VC Mindset: How to Achieve More by Thinking, and Communicating, Like a Venture CapitalistIn choosing who to date, what job to pursue, or how to invest our money, most people are just looking for a reason to move forward. But according to Professor Ilya Strebulaev, we should be looking for...
- 2024 / 5 / 14142. Power and Persuasion: Live Insights from Stanford ExpertsA special live edition from the Me2We event at Stanford, where strategic communications expert and podcast host Matt Abrahams joins four distinguished faculty members from Stanford Graduate School of...
- 2024 / 5 / 7141. An Invitation for Innovation: Why Creativity Is Found, Not ForcedSo you want to lead your team toward innovation. Does that require that you know where you’re going? Not according to Linda Hill.Hill is a professor of business administration at Harvard Business School whose...
- 2024 / 4 / 30140. Best of: How to Handle a Skeptical AudiencePreparing to speak in front of a skeptical audience is more than thinking about objections beforehand – there are specific techniques you can use to respond to these challenging situations without sounding...
- 2024 / 4 / 30140. Rethink: How to Handle a Skeptical AudienceBecome a Faster Smarter Supporter by joining TFTS Premium.Preparing to speak in front of a skeptical audience is more than thinking about objections beforehand – there are specific techniques you can use to...
- 2024 / 4 / 23139. Lose Yourself: The Secret to Finding Flow and Being Fully PresentWhether you're looking to boost your productivity, find more joy in your work, or simply be more present in the moment, you need flow — and research by Assistant Professor David Melnikoff could help you find...
- 2024 / 4 / 16138. Speak Your Truth: Why Authenticity Leads to Better CommunicationFrom the way you communicate, to the way build your life and career, Graham Weaver, MBA ’99, says it’s about “giving yourself permission to fully be yourself. You can never go wrong when you’re saying your...