Think Fast Talk Smart: Communication Techniques

"Know your stuff, practice, and then just do it and be there." How do you explain complex ideas without losing your audience? The challenge isn't knowing more—it's helping others understand. For Marketplace host Kai Ryssdal , great communication comes from making difficult topics accessible while holding people's attention. In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart , Ryssdal joins Matt Abrahams to...

"Meaning is about being mindful of the effect you have on other people." What makes a life meaningful? We often think purpose and meaning are the same thing, but according to Stanford professor Brian Lowery , they're fundamentally different. Purpose is what drives us. Meaning comes from the impact we have on others. In this live episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart from Stanford’s LEAD Me2We event, L...

"When there's a gap between our intention and our impact, we diminish others and our communication." The best leaders don't succeed because they have all the answers—they succeed because they bring out the best thinking in others. Liz Wiseman , executive advisor, CEO of the Wiseman Group, and author of the million-copy bestseller Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter , has spent...

“Managing emotions—yours and your audience's—is hard enough, but it's even harder when you're under pressure to respond." High-pressure communication doesn't have to derail your message. In this Think Fast, Talk Smart Ask Matt Anything episode, Matt Abrahams answers real-world questions from members of the Think Fast, Talk Smart Learning Community , sharing practical advice for communicating with...

"It's not an accent, it's an identity." The way we speak shapes more than how we're understood—it shapes how we're perceived. Peter Novak believes the goal of communication isn't to eliminate an accent, but to communicate with greater clarity, confidence, and authenticity. As a linguist, communication coach, and expert in accent bias, Novak helps multilingual professionals communicate more effecti...

"The assumption of swift trust is really useful." Teams don't always need years to build trust—they need the right conditions to build it quickly. As a Stanford professor and expert in organizational design, Melissa Valentine studies how communication, team structure, and emerging technologies help people collaborate more effectively. In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart , Valentine joins Mat...

"People aren't inside of our heads, so you have to give them that emotional information as well as the factual information." Humor is more than entertainment—it's a powerful way to create connection. As a comedian, writer, and former teacher, Chris Duffy has learned that laughter, curiosity, and emotion can transform even ordinary conversations into memorable experiences. In this episode of Think...

"If all you're trying to do is inform, you're not going to pull it off. You have to entertain your audience." Great presentations don't just share information—they create connection. As Apple's former Chief Evangelist and Canva's co-founder, Guy Kawasaki has spent decades helping people communicate ideas that inspire action. In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart , Kawasaki joins Matt Abrahams...

"You want to own the message and your narrative." Strong communication is about more than delivering a message—it’s about building trust over time. As Zoom’s Chief Marketing Officer, Kim Storin has helped shape communication at one of the world’s most recognizable brands, balancing empathy, transparency, and consistency in an era of rapid technological change. In this episode of Think Fast, Talk S...

"If these masters are still continually trying to improve their own craft, I don't have any excuses." The world's best don't reach the top and stop learning—they keep refining their craft. David Rogier , founder and CEO of MasterClass, has spent years sitting across from elite performers, athletes, artists, and entrepreneurs—and he’s discovered that excellence is less about talent than a relentles...

“Communication is the number one way to remove friction.” If communication is the key to connection, then removing friction is what makes every interaction work. According to Vanessa Van Edwards , the most effective communicators aren’t just skilled with words—they know how to align their gestures, body language, and presence to make others feel at ease. A behavioral researcher and bestselling aut...

Celebrating 300 episodes with listener questions from around the world.  In this special 300th episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart , host Matt Abrahams celebrates a major milestone with a live Ask Matt Anything session featuring questions from listeners around the world—and a few from the team behind the show. He introduces a new communication framework, PREP (Point, Reason, Example, Point), before...

How to communicate with impact when the stakes are high. Communication isn't about getting information out. It's about making sure it gets through. In an era of fragmented attention and endless platforms, the challenge isn't finding ways to speak—it's finding ways to connect. According to Farnaz Khadem , Vice President of University Communications at Stanford, great communicators start with three...

The nonverbal habits that make you look confident, composed, and authentic before you even speak. How you carry yourself can shape how others perceive your confidence, credibility, and authenticity—often before you say a word. In this Quick Thinks episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart , Matt Abrahams shares practical, research-backed techniques for strengthening your presence through body language, po...

Why the most effective communicators help people see not just what's changing, but why it matters to them. For Sinéad Bovell , effective communication isn’t just about explaining what’s coming next—it’s about giving people the confidence and agency to engage with it. Bovell is a futurist, founder of the tech education company WAYE, and an expert advisor to the United Nations AI Advisory Body. Know...

Practical communication strategies you can use immediately at work and beyond. How do you speak up when a conversation is moving faster than you can think? What should you do when emotions threaten to derail your listening? And how can you give honest feedback to a boss who doesn’t seem interested in hearing it? In this Ask Matt Anything episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart , host Matt Abrahams answe...

Why the best leaders treat uncertainty as a chance to learn, not a failure to avoid. Most companies are built to grow. Far fewer are built to stay true to their purpose as they do. Eric Ries is an entrepreneur, creator of the Lean Startup movement, and author of Incorruptible: Why Good Companies Go Bad and How Great Companies Stay Great . For Ries, innovation starts with a simple reality: nobody c...

Do you really win the negotiation if it means losing the relationship? You might think that successful negotiation means getting what you want here and now. But Stan Christensen says this short-sighted view is selling many negotiators short. Christensen is a professional negotiator, host of the All Things Negotiation podcast, and instructor of one of Stanford's most popular courses on the subject....

What it takes to lead as a communicator and communicate as a leader. Leadership isn’t just about making decisions — it’s about how you communicate them. As Matt Abrahams puts it, “Communication is operationalized leadership.” At a recent Me2We event, in connection with Stanford GSB's Executive Education LEAD program, Abrahams held a live discussion with four of the podcast’s most popular guests: C...

The hidden habits behind calm, confident communicators. What does it really take to become a more confident communicator? In this special collaboration between Think Fast, Talk Smart and Headspace , host Matt Abrahams shares practical, mindful strategies for speaking with clarity, managing anxiety, listening more deeply, and connecting more authentically with others. Across five short lessons, Mat...

What keeps us from being more social? Nick Epley calls it a “mind-reading mistake.” We all think about what others think, particularly what they think about us. The problem, says Nick Epley , is that we’re almost always wrong. Epley is a professor of behavioral science at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and author of A Little More Social: How Small Choices Create Unexpected Happ...

How can we approach aging with more joy, empathy, and meaningful connection? We often talk about lifespan, or how long we live, but Kerry Burnight believes the more important question is how fully we live along the way. Burnight is a gerontologist, former professor of geriatric medicine, and author of Joyspan: The Art and Science of Thriving in Life's Second Half . Drawing from decades of experien...

A full life isn’t about the quantity of time, but the quality. Our lifespan might describe how long we live, but it doesn’t say anything about how well we live. For that, Kerry Burnight says, we need a different measure: joyspan. Burnight is a gerontologist, former professor of geriatric medicine, and author of Joyspan: The Art and Science of Thriving in Life's Second Half . In her decades working...

The Tiger Sisters share the keys to collaborative communication. Good marketing communication doesn’t just go one way. As the Tiger Sisters know, building a brand is about bringing your audience into the conversation. Cherie and Jean Luo are sisters, tech and finance experts, and co-hosts of the Tiger Sisters Podcast , a show about money, power, and love. Their approach to content creation mirrors...

If you want to do your best, you’d better get your rest. The quality of your sleep fundamentally affects the quality of your communication. Communicating well, Dr. Cheri Mah says, starts with being well-rested. “Sleep impacts nearly every aspect of how you function,” says Mah, a sleep physician, adjunct lecturer at Stanford Sleep Medicine Center, and internationally recognized expert on sleep and...