Description
Join Matt Abrahams, a lecturer of Strategic Communication at Stanford Graduate School of Business, 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.
Episodes
- 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. 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 / 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 / 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 / 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 / 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 / 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 / 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 / 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...
- 2024 / 4 / 9137. When Words Aren’t Enough: How to Excel at Nonverbal CommunicationIf communication is like painting, words are the primary colors. But to convey deeper meaning, we need a broader color palette, which Dana Carney says requires the mastery of nonverbal communication.We often...
- 2024 / 4 / 2136. The Art of Disagreeing Without Conflict: Navigating the NuanceDisagreement and conflict may look the same on the surface, but the two concepts are, in fact, very different. According to Julia Minson, knowing how these notions differ is crucial to how you approach...
- 2024 / 3 / 26135. Best of: The Personal and Professional Power of Emotional AwarenessWhy deep connection with others starts by connecting more deeply with ourselves.How are you feeling right now? According to Celine Teoh, we all need to ask ourselves that question more often — and be more...
- 2024 / 3 / 19134. How to Chat with Bots: The Secrets to Getting the Information You Need from AILeveraging AI to unlock new levels of creativity and communication innovationJoin Matt Abrahams with creativity and innovation experts Jeremy Utley and Kian Gohar to explore the transformative potential of AI...
- 2024 / 3 / 12133. From Good to Super: How Supercommunicators Unlock the Language of ConnectionThe ways supercommunicators operate and how to emulate their techniques.Across more than 130 episodes, Think Fast, Talk Smart has touched a lot on what it takes to be a good communicator. But what about...
- 2024 / 3 / 5132. Lean Into Failure: How to Make Mistakes That WorkEffective and productive teams and relationships are based on the ability to communicate safely and to fail successfully. In this episode, Amy Edmondson, a professor at Harvard Business School and author of...
- 2024 / 2 / 27131. Friction Fixing: How to Use Obstacles to Your AdvantageWhy resistance isn’t always a bad thing.Friction — that’s Professor Huggy Rao’s metaphor for the forces that hamper workplace efficiency. But as he says, some friction can be helpful — if you know how to use...
- 2024 / 2 / 20130. Best Of: How to Maintain a Powerful Presence in Your Communication“Simple language, forceful language, vivid language, and keeping it simple and direct,” says Professor Jeffrey Pfeffer, are all powerful tools to strengthen your communication.Host and Stanford Graduate...
- 2024 / 2 / 13129. Connect Deeply: How to Communicate So People Feel Seen and HeardNew York Times Opinion columnist David Brooks shares how to communicate so that others feel seen, heard, and understood.All too often, we communicate without really connecting. The key to building deep...
- 2024 / 2 / 8128. Four Powerful Principles, Pt 2: Your Questions AnsweredMatt takes live questions from his worldwide audience.Join Matt Abrahams engaging with his international audience and answering questions that touch upon some of today's most pressing communication...
- 2024 / 2 / 6127. Four Principles of Powerful, Focused Communication, Pt. 1Matt takes live questions from his worldwide audience and shares a lesson around concision, relevance, accessibly, and precision in messaging. In this "masterclass," he emphasizes the communicator's role as a...
- 2024 / 1 / 30126. Making Meetings Meaningful, BONUS: When Face-to-Face Meetings MatterIf we want to generate better ideas, then we need to get people back to the office.In this bonus meetings mini-series episode, we feature an episode from the newest podcast from Stanford Graduate School of...
- 2024 / 1 / 29Think Fast, Talk Smart: The Podcast (A Sound Bite!)Whether you’re giving a toast or presenting in a meeting, communication is critical to success in business and in life. Join Matt Abrahams, a lecturer of Strategic Communication at Stanford Graduate School of...
- 2024 / 1 / 23125. Making Meetings Meaningful, Pt. 2: Key Ingredients for Effective MeetingsHow can we make meetings more effective? How can we keep people engaged and interested? Whether it’s in person or on Zoom, here are a few techniques you can use to make your gatherings more meaningful,...
- 2024 / 1 / 16124. Making Meetings Meaningful, Pt. 1: How to Structure and Organize More Effective GatheringsDelve into why people hate meetings, explore what hinders their effectiveness, and how to change that. Karin Reed (Emmy Award winner) and Joe Allen (“The Meeting Doctor”) join Matt Abrahams in the first...
- 2024 / 1 / 9123. Best Of: Why Curiosity Is Communication’s Secret WeaponThe information you receive is only as strong as the questions you ask.This week we revisit Matt's discussion with Debra Schifrin about how to craft inquiries that can lead to better communication outcomes....
- 2024 / 1 / 2122. How To Be More Confident and Calm in Your Communication: Managing the "ABC’s" of Communication AnxietyResearch-backed techniques on how to beat nervousness in the moment. In this episode, Matt uses clips from experts from previous TFTS episodes to provide you with several communication anxiety management...
- 2023 / 12 / 26121. Building trust and connection: How to lead with vulnerabilityWe have to be vulnerable in order to build trust in our relationships. But as Jacob Morgan says, “Vulnerability for leaders is not the same as it is for everybody else.”In this episode of Think Fast, Talk...
- 2023 / 12 / 19120. A Few of Matt’s Favorite Things: 10 Communication Takeaways from 2023's TFTS EpisodesMatt reflects on all the advice we've heard this season and shares the top 10 takeaways that he’s applying to his own communication:(00:00) Matt's Introduction(00:42) Jonah Berger: episode 80(02:09) Rachel...
- 2023 / 12 / 12119. Best Of: How to Embrace the Benefits of Stress“Stress is natural,” says Alia Crum, an assistant professor of psychology at Stanford. “Stress is inevitable when you’re living a life that’s connected with things you care about. And learning how to embrace...
- 2023 / 12 / 5118. Maximizing your Personal Brand: Communicating Who You Are to Help Get What You WantWhat comes to people’s minds when they think about you, and can you control it? Dorie Clark says you can — with the power of your personal brand.According to Clark, “You have brand equity in your own life.”...
- 2023 / 11 / 28117. Say It, See It: How to Connect Through ConversationCommunication is about so much more than sharing words. As neuroscientist Shane O’Mara explains, communication is about sharing reality.According to O’Mara, “A conversation is where we create a shared reality...
- 2023 / 11 / 21116. Quick Thinks: Don't Sweat the Small TalkEven if you don’t think you’re a natural, anyone can become proficient at the art of small talk by utilizing the right tactics and behaviors. In this collaboration with Harvard Business Review, strategic...
- 2023 / 11 / 14115. Best of: How We Set and Achieve GoalsWhy do we do what we do? What factors drive us? And how do things like competition with others help us achieve our goals?These are the questions most interesting to Szu-chi Huang, an associate professor...
- 2023 / 11 / 14Best of: How We Set and Achieve GoalsWhy do we do what we do? What factors drive us? And how do things like competition with others help us achieve our goals?These are the questions most interesting to Szu-chi Huang, an associate professor...
- 2023 / 11 / 7Communication Means Paying Attention: The Four Pillars of Active ListeningWe should all be audience-centric in communication. But, as Julian Treasure contests, we need to take it one step further. What is the listening I am speaking into?, he says, is the question every...
- 2023 / 11 / 7114. Communication Means Paying Attention: The Four Pillars of Active ListeningWe should all be audience-centric in communication. But, as Julian Treasure contests, we need to take it one step further. What is the listening I am speaking into?, he says, is the question every...
- 2023 / 10 / 31Missing Something? How to Kick FOMO with Conscious Decision-MakingWhat if you had that job? What if you were with that person? What if there’s a better option out there? If you find yourself asking these questions, Patrick McGinnis invented the term for what you’re...
- 2023 / 10 / 31113. Missing Something? How to Kick FOMO with Conscious Decision-MakingWhat if you had that job? What if you were with that person? What if there’s a better option out there? If you find yourself asking these questions, Patrick McGinnis invented the term for what you’re...
- 2023 / 10 / 24112. From Mistakes to "Missed Takes"This episode we're sharing an excerpt from Matt Abrahams's audiobook, Think Faster, Talk Smarter. Listen in as Matt explains how to think like a movie director, where a mistake isn't a grave error, but...
- 2023 / 10 / 24From Mistakes to "Missed Takes"This episode we're sharing an excerpt from Matt Abrahams's audiobook, Think Faster, Talk Smarter. Listen in as Matt explains how to think like a movie director, where a mistake isn't a grave error, but...
- 2023 / 10 / 16111. Best Of: How to Spark Creativity in Your Communication“Sparking communication starts with asking why or what or how.”On this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, Tina Seelig, the Professor of the Practice at Stanford’s department of management science...