Think Fast Talk Smart: Communication Techniques

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 intelligent—and their implications for learning and innov...

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. Sutton explore how operational obstacles show up in the workplace and, more importantly,...

“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 , about the verbal and nonverbal ways we can harness...

All too often, we communicate without really connecting. The key to building deep connections with others, says David Brooks , is to make them feel seen and heard. Brooks is a writer for the New York Times , the Atlantic , and the best-selling author of several books. In his latest, How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen , he explores how vulnerability — both b...

Join Matt Abrahams engaging with his international audience and answering questions that touch upon some of today's most pressing communication challenges. Matt offers advice on everything from the nuances of crafting clear, impactful questions and navigating emotional dynamics in group settings to maintaining control during presentations and delivering difficult news. Additionally, listeners are...

Matt 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 translator who simplifies complex information for diverse audiences. Key takeaways include the careful use of analogies, considering cultural backgrounds and audience understanding, and provi...

If 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 Business – If/Then: Business, Leadership, Society. In this conversation with senior editor Kevin Cool , Professor of Marketing and former TFTS guest Jonathan Levav details his study of remote w...

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 Business, as he sits down with experts in the field to discuss real-world communication challenges. How do I send my message clearly when put on the spot? How do I give better feedback? How c...

How 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, productive, and memorable. Get practical tools and actionable insights to actually make meetings matter, as well as knowing when NOT to have a meeting. Join Matt Abrahams in a dynamic conversation w...

Delve 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 of a two-part series that aims to reshape your approach to meetings and help you make them effective and meaningful, whether in person, virtual or hybrid.  They shed light on the constraints hinder...

The 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. Questions are also instrumental in building relationships, Schifrin points out. “If you’re asking questions, you’re signaling to the other person that you value them. You’re taking time to lis...

Research-backed techniques on how to beat nervousness in the moment.  In this episode, Matt uses clips from experts from previous Think Fast Talk Smart episodes to provide you with several communication anxiety management techniques to help you feel more comfortable and confident when you communicate. And as a guide to help us learn these techniques, he introduces the ABCs of anxiety management. C...

We 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 Smart , Morgan shares with host Matt Abrahams his “vulnerable leadership equation” and how leaders can use it to transform the way they interact with others — creating more trust, unlocking peop...

Matt reflects on all the advice we've heard this season and shares the top 10 takeaways that he’s applying to his own communication: Episode Reference Links: Jonah Berger: episode 80 Rachel Greenwald: episode 89 Dan Pink: episode 92 Vanessa Patrick: episode 95 Carmine Gallo: episode 103 Katy Milkman: episode 104 Kim Scott: episode 105 Francis Frei: episode 109 Patrick McGinnis: episode 113 Julian...

“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 it, learning how to work with it is really what helps us thrive and grow and perform at our highest level.” In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart , lecturer and podcast host Matt Abrahams...

What 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.” Your personal brand or reputation, she says, “makes things either easier or harder for you” as you pursue your personal and professional goals. The key question, she says, is “What kind of rep...

Communication 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 together.” As a professor of experimental brain research at Trinity College Dublin, his research has focused on how human brains sync up through communication. “The essence is that we are cr...

Even 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 communications lecturer Matt Abrahams shares his tips and techniques for cocktail party chit chat, networking small talk, and holiday dinner-table conversation.  Watch the full video on HBR's YouT...

Why 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 of marketing with a specific interest in motivation. “Competition definitely increases motivation,” says Huang. “It makes attaining the goal more valuable.” In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Sm...

We 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 speaker should ask themselves over and over. "Every human being’s listening is unique ... we listen through a set of filters and those filters develop as we grow and mature in life and we have experienc...

What 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 experiencing: FOMO. First coined by McGinnis in a piece published by the Harvard Business School newspaper, FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) describes the anxiety we feel when thinking that other people are...

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 rather a "missed takes" and an opportunity to try again with a new approach. This audio excerpt is courtesy of Simon & Schuster Audio from THINK FASTER, TALK SMARTER by Matt Abrahams, read by t...

“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 and engineering and the executive director of the Knight-Hennessy Scholars program, chats with host and lecturer Matt Abrahams about the importance of asking questions about everything we do. “Having a...

Whatever you’re writing, Todd Rogers says most people are too busy to read it. That’s why, he says, “you want to make it as easy as possible for them." Rogers is a professor of public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and the author of the book Writing for Busy Readers: Communicate More Effectively in the Real World . From text messages to fundraising letters to political speeches...

You said it. But did they hear it? For Frances Frei , communication is about saying things simply enough for an audience to truly understand. As a professor of technology and operations management at Harvard Business School, Frei knows that shaping culture within organizations requires communicating in ways that influence how people think and act. The problem for many leaders, she says, is that wh...