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One of the most essential ingredients to success in business and life is effective communication. Join Matt Abrahams, best-selling author and Strategic Communication lecturer at Stanford Graduate School of Business, as he interviews experts to provide actionable insights that help you communicate with clarity, confidence, and impact. From handling impromptu questions to crafting compelling messages, Matt explores practical strategies for real-world communication challenges. Whether you’re na ...
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Enjoy this preview of our first Ask Matt Anything (AMA). We are excited to introduce this special edition of Think Fast, Talk Smart, featuring a preview of our first-ever Ask Matt Anything (AMA) episode. Typically, these sessions are exclusive to our Think Fast, Talk Smart Premium members, where Matt Abrahams answers the most pressing communication…
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Crafting impactful toasts for every occasion. "Almost reflexively, most of us focus in the moment on how others are perceiving us, yet these situations aren't about us at all." Matt Abrahams, host of Think Fast, Talk Smart, shares an excerpt from his book, Think Faster, Talk Smarter: How to Speak Successfully When You're Put on the Spot, on the art…
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Turn 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, isn’t about the perfect agenda or venue, but about the intentionality behind how you bring people together. “90% of the success of any gatherin…
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Master 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 crucial. To help make this time more enjoyable, this special Think Fast Talk Smart “Rethinks” episode revisits favorite “recipes” from past …
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Visit 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 lessons in concise storytelling that resonate with anyone seeking to communicate effectively. “Simplify and amplify,” Price advises, emphasizing t…
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Mindfulness 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 take back control of how we respond. “Before speaking at work, breathe,” Goldsmith says. “Is my comment going to improve this other human b…
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Make your audience a part of the story. Great storytellers don't just relay information — they create experiences. As magicians, TikTok influencers, and stand-up comedians, these masters of engagement know that true connection happens when you make your audience a part of the story. In part two of this special series on storytelling, host Matt Abra…
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Wisdom from the witness stand to the newsstand. The best storytellers might not call themselves storytellers at all. But from litigating in the courtroom to crafting newspaper cartoons, these experts know how to weave narratives that resonate. In part one of this special two-part series, host Matt Abrahams explores the foundations of effective stor…
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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 connection and opportunity. An expert in the science of conversation, Wood Brooks, teaches a popular course titled Talk and has spent years resea…
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Introducing 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 Insight Playlists—Extended Deep Thinks episodes, and the AI Chat Matt tool. The focus is on building a global community where members can con…
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Make your message memorable. “Immediately forgettable” — that’s how Matthew Dicks describes most of the business communication that he encounters. If you want to be remembered, he says, it’s time to tell stories. A veteran elementary school teacher, storytelling coach, and best-selling author, Dicks knows how the right narrative can transform munda…
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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 fi…
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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 selecti…
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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…
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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…
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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; lett…
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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 sensati…
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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 unexp…
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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 mos…
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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…
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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…
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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 Neuroscien…
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Artificial 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 is a professor of bioengineering, a senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, and host of Stanford…
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As 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 creative director of the Stanford d.school and co-author of the book, Assembling Tomorrow: A Guide to Designing a Thriving Future. In designing everything f…
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Navigators 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 forefront of American diplomacy and foreign policy, Rice has been no stranger to high-stakes situations that hinge on clear and candid communic…
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"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, Jonathan D. Levin, the tenth dean of Stanford Graduate School of Business, was appointed the President of Stanford University. In this Think Fast, Talk S…
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Tara 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 listening.” For VanDerveer, leadership isn’t about a power dynamic, but a collaboration between her and her team. “I can't do it by myself and …
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“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 what to do when communication breaks down. Both Frei and her wife Morriss are public speakers; the former, a professor at Harvard Business Schoo…
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Whether 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 work. Seaman is the senior managing editor for jobs and career development at LinkedIn, and as the creator and host of the Get Hired podcast and n…
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Sometimes, 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 around the world. As teachers of Strategic Communication, lecturers Shawon Jackson and Matt Abrahams have plenty of advice on how to be a better c…
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“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 Dan Pink. “I think it’s because we are slightly over-indexed on risk. We overstate the risk in many circumstances.” In this episode of Think F…
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In 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 conviction and compassion. At both Stanford Graduate School of Business and Stanford School of Medicine, Grousbeck teaches courses on managing diff…
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Innovation 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, author, and podcaster, Johnson teaches people how to level up their lives and careers through the power of personal disruption. Her book, Disrupt …
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Stress 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 clinical professor in psychiatry at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the author of several books, including Stress Resets: How to …
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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, and setting ourselves up for difficulty. But what if you reframed the whole idea, to think of a negotiation not as a fight, but as a problem-solving exercise involving emotions? In this episode of Thi…
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Many 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 human instinct is to avoid conflict, I believe that conflicts are not only an inevitable part of interacting with other humans, but they're a necessa…
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143. Adopting a VC Mindset: How to Achieve More by Thinking, and Communicating, Like a Venture Capitalist
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In 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 something else: a reason to bail. "The smartest venture capitalists ask a very different question from what most of us ask," says Strebulaev. Instead…
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A 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 Business: Michelle Gelfand explores the dynamics of cross-cultural organizational behavior. Brian Lowery discusses the societal implications of racial…
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So 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 research focuses on leadership and how organizations achieve innovation. When it comes to generating breakthrough ideas, Hill says it’s less…
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Preparing 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 defensive, evasive, or dismissive. Here, we offer a few key tips for how to handle skepticism with aplomb. In this podcast, host Matt Abrahams a…
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Whether 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 it. Melnikoff investigates how we pursue our goals, and how flow — the state of being totally immersed and engaged in what we’re doing — can h…
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From 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 truth.” Weaver is a lecturer in management, a GSB alum, and the founder and a partner of Alpine Investors. He stresses the importance of direct …
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If 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 focus on the words that we say when honing our communication, but according to Carney, there are many instances “where nonverbals start to be…
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Disagreement 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 them. In this episode of Think Fast Talk Smart, Minson and strategic communication lecturer Matt Abrahams delve into the intricacies of conflict and…
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Why 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 precise in how we answer it. Teoh is a facilitator of the course Interpersonal Dynamics, one of Stanford Graduate School of Business’s most icon…
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Leveraging AI to unlock new levels of creativity and communication innovation Join Matt Abrahams with creativity and innovation experts Jeremy Utley and Kian Gohar to explore the transformative potential of AI in the realms of creativity and problem-solving. If you treat artificial intelligence like an oracle, you’ll likely be disappointed. But if …
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The 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 reaching that next level? What about being a “supercommunicator”? Supercommunicator is a term used by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and author…
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Effective 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 The Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well, shares profound insights on the different types of failure—basic, complex, and intelligen…
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Why 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 it. In his book, The Friction Project: How Smart Leaders Make the Right Things Easier and the Wrong Things Harder, Rao and coauthor Robert I.…
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“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 School of Business lecturer Matt Abrahams interviews Pfeffer, the author many books, including Power: Why Some People Have It and Others Don't, ab…
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