Think Fast Talk Smart: Communication Techniques

How to turn latent motivation into fuel for change. If you want to be a changemaker, you’ll have to convince others to join your cause. But according to Dan Heath , persuading your audience isn’t about creating new motivation — it’s about leveraging the motivation that’s already there. “The most important fuel for any change effort is motivation,” says Heath, the number-one New York Times bestsell...

Whatever your message, the manner in which you deliver it is just as important. You found the right words. You picked the right time to say them. You even tailored them to your audience. Why did your message fall flat? “It's your tone,” says Jefferson Fisher . Fisher is a trial attorney, New York Times bestselling author, podcast host, and one of the most-followed experts in communication today. F...

Real change isn’t about knowing what to do — it’s about actually doing it, one small choice at a time. Change doesn’t come from one big breakthrough. It comes from the small choices we make over and over — often in moments we barely notice. Eric Zimmer , behavior coach, host of The One You Feed podcast, and author of How A Little Becomes A Lot , says the real challenge isn’t figuring out what to d...

The goals we set often lead us away from the meaning we ultimately seek. Meaning in life isn’t a concrete point we can route toward. That’s why we need what Arthur Brooks calls “proxy goals” — and much better ones than we typically choose. Brooks, a professor at Harvard Business School and author of The Meaning of Your Life: Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness , says that meaning can't be pursu...

Why mastering unspoken workplace communication is essential to long-term career success. Succeeding at work doesn’t just depend on how hard you work or how smart you are. According to Erin McGoff , it often comes down to whether you understand the “secret language” everyone else seems to be speaking. McGoff is a career creator, Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, and author of The Secret Language of Work:...

How to communicate for deeper connection—and greater happiness. Happiness isn’t just a feeling—it’s something you can actively shape through how you think, connect, and communicate. Sonja Lyubomirsky, a distinguished professor of psychology at the University of California, Riverside and co-author of How to Feel Loved: The Five Mindsets That Get You More of What Matters Most , defines happiness as...

Memorable communication isn’t about saying more—it’s making the right idea stick.  No matter how compelling a presentation feels in the moment, most of what you say won’t last in your audience’s memory. The key isn’t trying to make people remember everything — it’s ensuring they remember what matters most. Carmen Simon is a cognitive neuroscientist, author, and expert on how the brain pays attenti...

People are forgetful. Here’s how to make your messages more memorable. After any presentation, your audience will forget about 90% of what you said. That’s okay, says Carmen Simon — just make sure they remember the right 10%. Simon is a cognitive neuroscientist, speaker, author, and expert on how the brain processes and retains information. Her research reveals a humbling truth: “We forget our liv...

The secret to building habits that stick. Whether you want to read more books or exercise more regularly, BJ Fogg has good news. “Habits are easier to form than most people think,” he says, “If you do it in the right way.” As the founder and director of Stanford's Behavior Design Lab , Fogg has devoted much of his career to researching human psychology, motivation, and behavior. According to him,...

Why beliefs can either cap our potential or push us toward possibility. What you believe about yourself could be holding you back. Fortunately, Nir Eyal says beliefs aren’t truths — and you can choose new ones. Eyal is a former lecturer at Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Stanford d.school, a celebrated author, and a renowned expert on human behavior and potential. His latest book, Bey...

Practical insights to help you communicate with more intention in everyday moments. What’s the difference between reacting and responding? How do you move from memorizing your words to truly conversing in the moment? And how do you keep growing as a communicator in everyday moments? Communication isn’t about having the perfect script. It’s about staying present enough to respond with intention. In...

How to communicate who you are online. You may not think of yourself as a content creator, but in the creator economy, Angèle Christin says we all have to learn how to communicate who we are online. Christin is an associate professor of communications at Stanford University and a senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI. According to her, “we are all content creators now.” We...

Why being true to yourself enables you to show up better for others. From the way you communicate, to the way you 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 t...

How to turn down the chatter of negative self-talk. If you want to have better conversations with others, Ethan Kross says you first have to quiet down the chatter in your own head. A professor, researcher, and author, Kross defines chatter as a “negative thought loop” that hijacks our attention and undermines our ability to perform. “We have a limited capacity to focus our attention,” he says. “A...

How to turn complexity into connection through clear communication. Communication in high-stakes moments isn’t about saying more — it’s about connecting better. For Jonathan Berek and Phil Polakoff , the most effective communicators don’t rely on jargon or performance. They rely on empathy, listening, and stories that resonate. Both longtime Stanford Medicine leaders, Berek and Polakoff have spent...

Why curiosity is the best way to start a conversation. No matter how wide political, cultural, and generational divides seem to grow, Fareed Zakaria is convinced: communication has the power to connect. Zakaria is the host of CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS, a Washington Post columnist, and author of Age of Revolutions , a book about the seismic societal shifts that define modern history. In his decades...

Why clarity and authenticity matter more than ever in modern communication. Clear communication in the age of likes, LLMs, and constant noise isn’t about talking more. For Nick Thompson , it’s about being unmistakably clear and unmistakably yourself. Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic and former editor-in-chief of Wired, has spent his career shaping stories that hold attention. “Clear beats clever,” he...

How to tap the full power of your voice. Being present in communication isn’t just mental. It’s about the physical energy you bring into a space — particularly, says Patsy Rodenburg , the presence of your voice. “The physical presence of the human being is the most important thing we have,” says Rodenburg. As a world-renowned expert in voice, speech, and presentation, she has helped everyone from...

How to design meetings with purpose so they actually move work forward. Meetings are a necessary part of work. But for many people, they’re also a major source of frustration. According to Rebecca Hinds , meetings don’t have to feel like a drain—better meetings start when we stop treating them as a default and start designing them with intention. Hinds is the author of Your Best Meeting Ever: Seve...

Why your best life isn’t about having the right answers, but about asking the right questions. Finding meaning and purpose in life isn’t about having all the answers. For Bill Burnett and Dave Evans, it’s about having the courage and curiosity to constantly engage with the questions. As designers, Burnett and Evans have careers spanning everything from academia to companies like Apple, Electronic...

How “spaciousness” helps teams move beyond busywork — and build the conditions for honest conversation. “We’re just so busy right now” is one of the most common reasons cultures don’t change — and it’s exactly what Megan Reitz set out to understand. In her research, she describes two modes of attention at work: doing mode, where focus narrows to tasks, control, and quick progress, and spacious mod...

Why it’s critical to say what needs to be said — and listen when others do the same. Speak out, listen up — these are Megan Reitz’s core pillars of workplace communication. According to her, healthy organizations are only possible when everyone can say what they think, and they know they’ll be heard. Reitz is an academic and author whose work focuses on creating workplaces where all voices are hea...

Why it’s not about being born a great communicator, but becoming one. The greatest communicators aren’t always great from the start. As Lerone Martin knows, even the great Martin Luther King Jr. had to practice before he could persuade. Martin is the Martin Luther King Jr. Centennial Professor at Stanford, and as director of the King Research and Education Institute, he has spent years studying ho...

Why being kind is the best investment. Can kindness be a company’s competitive advantage? Bonnie Hayden Cheng says yes — and she’s got a business metric to prove it: return on kindness. Cheng is a professor of management at City University of Hong Kong who researches how workplace behaviors affect interpersonal dynamics and well-being. In her book, The Return on Kindness , she explores how organiz...

The keys to communicating clarity, not confusion. What separates communicators who clarify from those who confuse? The ability to “Simplify complexity,” says Adam Bryant . “I don't think you can be an effective leader if you can't do that.” Bryant is a senior managing director at the ExCo Group and former New York Times journalist who interviewed over 500 CEOs for his renowned Corner Office column...