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Think Fast Talk Smart: Communication Techniques

Matt Abrahams, Think Fast Talk Smart

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.

  • 23 minutes 18 seconds
    167. Hollywood Lessons For Successful Communication

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    Beyond the Big Screen.

    Every business meeting, product launch, or marketing communication has something in common with your favorite movie: they all succeed or fail based on their ability to make you feel something. Just ask Jeff Small, CEO of Amblin Partners.

    "Good stories win," says Small, who leads one of the world's most renowned independent film and television companies alongside Steven Spielberg. As both a business leader and storytelling expert, Small knows that successful communication is built on person-to-person connection through the power of story. "Whatever walk of life you're in, you have to be able to tell a story to connect with people, to get across the message that you're trying to get across."

    In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, Small joins host Matt Abrahams to share insights from his experience at the intersection of creativity and commerce, unpacking how effective storytelling can transform your communication, whether leading teams through industry disruption, resolving conflicts at work and at home, or creating films to inspire audiences for generations to come.


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    Chapters:

    • (00:00) - Introduction
    • (02:22) - What Makes a Good Story?
    • (03:15) - Bringing Emotion into Communication
    • (03:51) - Storytelling Across Professions
    • (05:55) - Crafting an Effective Story
    • (07:41) - Uniqueness in Storytelling
    • (08:44) - Balancing Creativity and Business
    • (10:13) - Managing Conflict with Connection
    • (12:02) - Screen Time and Family
    • (13:42) - Navigating Industry Change
    • (16:02) - The Final Three Questions
    • (22:27) - Conclusion
    5 November 2024, 2:00 pm
  • 20 minutes 14 seconds
    166. Why Relying on Talent Alone Will Fail You

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    Why 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 success is practice.

    "There's a romantic notion that you rise to the occasion," says Luck, a Stanford graduate and four-time Pro Bowl selection. "But I think you settle to the level of your training. We practiced those high-pressure situations all the time.” From calling critical game-winning plays to navigating communication off the field, our performance in high-stakes situations, Luck maintains, is determined by our level of preparation.

    In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, Luck and host Matt Abrahams explore how deliberate practice can help us hone our performance across all domains of our lives.  From managing high-pressure situations to building psychological safety in homes and workplaces, Luck shares insights gained from both sides of the field — as a player and now as a coach.

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    Chapters:

    • (00:00) - Introduction
    • (02:18) - Communication in High-Stress Situations
    • (04:28) - Staying Calm Under Pressure
    • (06:58) - Earning Leadership Through Respect
    • (08:21) - Overcoming Conflict Aversion
    • (09:28) - Decision to Retire from the NFL
    • (11:35) - Returning to Education
    • (13:13) - Life Lessons Through Coaching
    • (15:34) - The Final Three Questions
    • (18:42) - Conclusion
    29 October 2024, 1:00 pm
  • 23 minutes 8 seconds
    165. Building Your Personal Brand Makes a Promise: Are You Keeping It?

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    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 questions: “Who’s it for? What’s it for? And what’s the change [you] seek to make?”

    As a best-selling author, entrepreneur, and marketing expert, Godin understands that effective communication rests on purpose and intent. “Branding is not logoing,” he says, but a “promise” that an individual or company makes about who they are and what others can expect of them. By intentionally defining who we are and who our audience is, Godin argues we can create more meaningful connections and drive real change.

    In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, Godin and host Matt Abrahams explore how we can be more deliberate in our communication, using storytelling, clarity of messaging, and defining the impact we want to make on our audience and the world.

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    Chapters:

    • (00:00) - Introduction
    • (02:00) - Defining Branding and Marketing
    • (03:41) - The Role of Status in Podcast Growth
    • (05:50) - Storytelling as a Powerful Tool
    • (07:30) - The Smallest Viable Audience
    • (09:03) - Clarity in Messaging
    • (11:20) - Strategy Defined
    • (14:43) - Developing Effective Strategies
    • (17:19) - The Final Three Questions
    • (21:26) - Conclusion
     
    22 October 2024, 1:00 pm
  • 29 minutes 41 seconds
    164. Best of: Using "Pre-suasion" to Influence Others

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    The 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 Psychology and Marketing at Arizona State University, persuasion begins before we even deliver our pitch or presentation. Through what he calls “Pre-suasion,” communicators can prime audiences to receive messages in a specific way, simply by drawing their attention in specific directions. 

    “It involves focusing people on—putting them in mind of—those motivators before they encounter [them] in the communicator’s message,” Cialdini says, “bringing people’s focus of attention onto something that is nested in the message…before that message is delivered, so they have been readied for the concept.”

    In this episode, Matt Abrahams and Cialdini talk about the motivating power of FOMO, getting better advice from others, and how your next wine purchase could be influenced by what music is playing in the shop.

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    Chapters:

    • (00:00) - Introduction
    • (03:05) - Persuasion and Pre-suasion
    • (06:26) - Priming and Framing in Pre-suasion
    • (09:07) - Understanding Scarcity
    • (11:57) - The Unity Principle
    • (15:13) - Social Proof and Influence
    • (20:33) - The Role of Language in Persuasion
    • (23:32) - The Final Three Questions
    • (27:58) - Conclusion
     
    15 October 2024, 6:24 pm
  • 20 minutes 15 seconds
    163. Is Your Audience Ignoring You? How Authenticity Creates Connection

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    How 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 ourselves.

    "Connecting, communicating, and clarity," Alda explains, "they're all based on hearing what the other person is really saying; letting the person be real; accepting them.” As an acclaimed actor, writer, director, and author of If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face?, Alda has spent much of his career exploring how acceptance enables us to be our authentic selves, leading to better communication and truer connection. “There’s nothing more engaging than the real you,” he says.

    Also the founder of the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University, Alda strives to help scientists and health professionals communicate more effectively with the public. “Science can't do its work unless it gets funded. And it can't get funded if people don't understand what the scientists are trying to do,” he says.

    In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, Alda and host Matt Abrahams discuss how acceptance and authenticity can transform all of our interactions, from complicated science conversations to everyday communication.

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    Chapters:

    • (00:00) - Introduction
    • (02:08) - Motivation for Communication
    • (04:08) - Avoiding Communication Pitfalls
    • (06:24) - The Role of Clarity and Vividness
    • (07:31) - Reflection in Communication
    • (08:21) - Connection in Conversations
    • (09:36) - Reframing Communication Anxiety
    • (11:16) - Asking Meaningful Questions
    • (12:11) - Matt’s Communication Journey
    • (13:58) - The Art of Storytelling
    • (16:25) - The Final Three Questions
    • (18:32) - Conclusion
     
    8 October 2024, 1:00 pm
  • 20 minutes 15 seconds
    162. Unlock Career Opportunities: How to Make the Right Moves

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    Being 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 possibilities and “let your passion lead.”

    Baird is an accomplished actress, improv teacher at the Groundlings Theater, mother to music sensations Billie Eilish and Phineas, and founder of Support and Feed, a nonprofit addressing food equity and the climate crisis. Through it all, she has embodied the improv principle of "Yes, and..." — being present in the moment and staying open to whatever unfolds. “I have done many things,” she says, “but I never approached any of them as a career change. They all came out of new interests and new experiences.”

    In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, Baird joins host Matt Abrahams to explore the critical role of communication in developing a career, and how improv principles can help us engage, as Baird says, “From a place of open-heartedness, appreciation, [and] collaboration.”

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    Chapters:

    • (00:00) - Introduction
    • (02:02) - Career Transitions
    • (02:54) - Teaching and Confidence Through Improv
    • (05:12) - Improv as a Communication Tool
    • (06:54) - Structure and Freedom in Improv
    • (08:46) - Teaching with Empathy
    • (11:43) - Advocacy in the Music Industry
    • (14:27) - Collaboration and Positive Change
    • (17:16) - The Final Three Questions
    • (18:55) - Conclusion
     
    1 October 2024, 1:00 pm
  • 21 minutes 21 seconds
    Bonus: How to Manage Speaking Anxiety the Think Faster, Talk Smarter Way

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    Gain 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 speaking anxiety and improving spontaneous communication. Through personal anecdotes and practical techniques, he explains how to handle unexpected questions, reframe anxiety as excitement, and use mindfulness and breathing exercises to stay calm under pressure. The episode also offers tips for managing physical symptoms of anxiety and staying mentally focused during high-stakes situations

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    Chapters:

    • (00:00) - Introduction
    • (01:46) - The Onion Interview
    • (03:28) - Speaking Up Without Freaking Out
    • (05:56) - The ABCs of Speaking Anxiety
    • (07:10) - Mindfulness Matters
    • (09:28) - Reframe Anxiety as Excitement
    • (10:52) - Cooling Down and Managing Physical Symptoms
    • (14:41) - Taming Negative Thoughts
    • (15:52) - The Power of Repetition
    • (16:30) - Preparing Questions
    • (18:55) - Rationalizing the Odds
    • (19:58) - Conclusion

    Audio excerpt courtesy of Simon & Schuster Audio from THINK FASTER, TALK SMARTER by Matt Abrahams, read by the author. Copyright 2023 by Matthew Abrahams LLC. Used with permission of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
    26 September 2024, 1:00 pm
  • 22 minutes 41 seconds
    161. Do Your Homework: Know What to Say by Knowing Who You’re Talking To

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    Know 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 House Press Secretary and current host of Inside with Jen Psaki on MSNBC, Psaki has discovered that communication isn’t about “saying the most words or saying them the loudest,” but about knowing your audience well enough to tailor the message just for them. “You need to think about how you're going to get your audience to listen to you,” she says. “The goal of communicating is to crack the door open so somebody wants to hear more.”

    In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, Psaki and host Matt Abrahams explore her approach to strategic communication: identifying your audience and using what you know to engage with them and get them to engage with you.

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    Chapters:

    • (00:00) - Introduction
    • (02:16) - Principles of Communication
    • (03:17) - Skills for Effective Listening
    • (04:00) - Engagement and Lowering Barriers
    • (04:59) - Tailoring Communication
    • (06:23) - Preparation and Practice for Confidence
    • (08:16) - The Value of Feedback
    • (11:19) - Handling Difficult Questions
    • (13:47) - High-Stakes Negotiation
    • (16:39) - The Final Three Questions
    • (20:57) - Conclusion
     
    24 September 2024, 1:00 pm
  • 26 minutes 18 seconds
    160. Best of: How to Communicate Your Gameplan

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    Why 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 C-suite, but it doesn’t have to be. “Lots of great strategies are discovered,” he says, “they’re discovered because the leaders were able to listen to their frontline workers or their frontline managers.” A more iterative approach, says Sørensen, helps companies adapt their strategy to an ever-changing landscape.
    In the latest episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, Sørensen joins host and lecturer Matt Abrahams to discuss how organizations can use better communication to craft better strategies.

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    Chapters:

    • (00:00) - Introduction
    • (02:47) - Defining Strategy
    • (04:30) - Common Misconceptions about Strategy
    • (06:16) - The Concept of a Strategy Argument
    • (08:13) - Strategy as a Communication Tool
    • (12:02) - The Dynamic Nature of Strategy
    • (13:38) - Storytelling in Strategy Communication
    • (16:04) - Propagating Strategy Through Storytelling
    • (18:10) - The Final Three Questions
    • (24:48) - Conclusion
     
    17 September 2024, 1:00 pm
  • 21 minutes 17 seconds
    159. Earn Your Audience: You Can’t Lead If No One’s Listening

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    What 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 working to create the great storytellers of tomorrow, today.

    "We decided that there was a leadership void, and that was a driving motivation to do this," says Hennessy, former Stanford president and current Alphabet chairman. The program, which he co-founded in 2016 with Stanford alum and Nike co-founder Phil Knight, equips scholars with essential leadership skills through hands-on experience and collaborative problem-solving.

    Seelig, executive director of the program, emphasizes that great leadership centers on effective storytelling. "No matter how compelling your invention, your idea, the thing you want to do in the world, if you can't communicate it in [an] effective way, nobody's going to listen," she says.

    In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, Hennessy, Seelig, and host Matt Abrahams explore what it takes to develop as a leader, discussing the role of communication, the power of empathy, and the centrality of storytelling.

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    Chapters:

    • (00:00) - Introduction
    • (02:16) - The Core of Knight-Hennessy Scholars
    • (03:04) - Knight-Hennessy Scholars Leadership Model
    • (04:43) - Empathy and Humility in Leadership
    • (07:09) - Storytelling in Leadership
    • (08:31) - Challenges in Storytelling
    • (10:05) - Diversity in Leadership
    • (12:29) - Feedback in Leadership Development
    • (13:39) - Aspiring to Big Ideas in Leadership
    • (14:25) - The Leading Matters Podcast
    • (16:19) - The Final Three Questions
    • (19:40) - Conclusion
     
    10 September 2024, 1:00 pm
  • 27 minutes 26 seconds
    158. Hope for Cynics: Building Trusting Relationships through Communication

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    “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 Zaki believes we can renew our faith in one another.
    Zaki is a professor of psychology at Stanford, director of the Stanford Social Neuroscience lab, and author of several books, including his most recent, Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness. While many people feel suspicious of others and are reluctant to trust them, Zaki finds that relying on other people is a necessary part of forming relationships.

    “Acts of trust are the bedrock on which relationships are formed,” Zaki says. “The only way that strangers become friends and friends become best friends, the only way that we can build partnerships is through a willingness to count on one another.”

    In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, Zaki joins host Matt Abrahams to discuss practical strategies for fostering trust and challenging our cynical assumptions, offering a hopeful perspective on human nature, backed by surprising scientific insights.

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    Chapters:

    • (00:00) - Introduction
    • (02:12) - Defining Trust and Its Importance
    • (03:03) - Building Better Trust
    • (04:33) - Understanding Cynicism
    • (06:56) - The Cynicism Spectrum
    • (09:16) - Fostering Hopeful Skepticism
    • (11:29) - Challenges of Overcoming Cynicism
    • (16:19) - Self-Fulfilling Prophecies
    • (18:40) - The Final Three Questions
    • (25:45) - Conclusion
     
    3 September 2024, 1:00 pm
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