Think Fast Talk Smart: Communication Techniques

Latest Episodes:

162. Unlock Career Opportunities: How to Make the Right Moves Oct 01, 2024

Show notes

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.”

Episode Reference Links:

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Chapters:

(00:00) - Introduction
(00:53) - Career Transitions
(01:45) - Teaching and Confidence Through Improv
(04:03) - Improv as a Communication Tool
(05:45) - Structure and Freedom in Improv
(07:37) - Teaching with Empathy
(10:34) - Advocacy in the Music Industry
(13:18) - Collaboration and Positive Change
(16:07) - The Final Three Questions
(17:46) - Conclusion

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Bonus: How to Manage Speaking Anxiety the Think Faster, Talk Smarter Way Sep 26, 2024

Show notes

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

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.

Reference Links:

Link to buy book in your country: Think Faster, Talk Smarter
Ep.48 Speaking Up Without Freaking Out: How to Tackle Communication Anxiety

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Chapters:

(00:00) - Introduction
(00:37) - The Onion Interview
(02:19) - Speaking Up Without Freaking Out
(04:47) - The ABCs of Speaking Anxiety
(06:01) - Mindfulness Matters
(08:19) - Reframe Anxiety as Excitement
(09:43) - Cooling Down and Managing Physical Symptoms
(13:32) - Taming Negative Thoughts
(14:43) - The Power of Repetition
(15:21) - Preparing Questions
(17:46) - Rationalizing the Odds
(18:49) - Conclusion

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161. Do Your Homework: Know What to Say by Knowing Who You’re Talking To Sep 24, 2024

Show notes

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.

Episode Reference Links:

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Matt Abrahams >>> LinkedIn

Chapters:

(00:00) - Introduction
(01:07) - Principles of Communication
(02:08) - Skills for Effective Listening
(02:51) - Engagement and Lowering Barriers
(03:50) - Tailoring Communication
(05:14) - Preparation and Practice for Confidence
(07:07) - The Value of Feedback
(10:10) - Handling Difficult Questions
(12:38) - High-Stakes Negotiation
(15:30) - The Final Three Questions
(19:48) - Conclusion

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Join our Think Fast Talk Smart Learning Community and become the communicator you want to be.

160. Rethinks: How to Communicate Your Gameplan Sep 17, 2024

Show notes

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.

Episode Reference Links:

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Matt Abrahams >>> LinkedIn

Chapters:

(00:00) - Introduction
(01:38) - Defining Strategy
(03:21) - Common Misconceptions about Strategy
(05:07) - The Concept of a Strategy Argument
(07:04) - Strategy as a Communication Tool
(10:53) - The Dynamic Nature of Strategy
(12:29) - Storytelling in Strategy Communication
(14:55) - Propagating Strategy Through Storytelling
(17:01) - The Final Three Questions
(23:39) - Conclusion

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Thank you to our sponsors. These partnerships support the ongoing production of the podcast, allowing us to bring it to you at no cost.

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Join our Think Fast Talk Smart Learning Community and become the communicator you want to be.

159. Earn Your Audience: You Can’t Lead If No One’s Listening Sep 10, 2024

Show notes

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.

Episode Reference Links:

Connect:

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Matt Abrahams >>> LinkedIn

Chapters:

(00:00) - Introduction
(01:07) - The Core of Knight-Hennessy Scholars
(01:55) - Knight-Hennessy Scholars Leadership Model
(03:34) - Empathy and Humility in Leadership
(06:00) - Storytelling in Leadership
(07:22) - Challenges in Storytelling
(08:56) - Diversity in Leadership
(11:20) - Feedback in Leadership Development
(12:30) - Aspiring to Big Ideas in Leadership
(13:16) - The Leading Matters Podcast
(15:10) - The Final Three Questions
(18:31) - Conclusion

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Thank you to our sponsors. These partnerships support the ongoing production of the podcast, allowing us to bring it to you at no cost.

Unleash your Superhuman potential with AI that meets you where you work. Learn more at superhuman.com

Join our Think Fast Talk Smart Learning Community and become the communicator you want to be.

158. Hope for Cynics: Building Trusting Relationships through Communication Sep 03, 2024

Show notes

“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.

Episode Reference Links:

Jamil Zaki
Jamil’s Lab: Stanford Social Neuroscience Lab
Jamil’s Book: Hope for Cynics
Ep.84 Quick Thinks: How Others Define Us
Ep. 129 Connect Deeply: How to Communicate So People Feel Seen and Heard

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Matt Abrahams >>> LinkedIn

Chapters:

(00:00) - Introduction
(01:03) - Defining Trust and Its Importance
(01:54) - Building Better Trust
(03:24) - Understanding Cynicism
(05:47) - The Cynicism Spectrum
(08:07) - Fostering Hopeful Skepticism
(10:20) - Challenges of Overcoming Cynicism
(15:10) - Self-Fulfilling Prophecies
(17:31) - The Final Three Questions
(24:36) - Conclusion

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Thank you to our sponsors. These partnerships support the ongoing production of the podcast, allowing us to bring it to you at no cost.

Unleash your Superhuman potential with AI that meets you where you work. Learn more at superhuman.com

Join our Think Fast Talk Smart Learning Community and become the communicator you want to be.

157. Communicating the Future: Defining Where We Want AI to Take Us Aug 27, 2024

Show notes

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 Engineering’s podcast, The Future of Everything. According to him, advancing technology isn’t a threat to human creativity and connection, but a tool we can use to raise our own standards for communication.

“If you're worried that a ChatGPT-type tool can replace you, you need to [ask]: Why am I communicating? What am I trying to say? Do I have a message?” he says. “If those things are true, it shouldn't be a problem. It should actually amplify and improve your message.”

In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, Altman and host Matt Abrahams explore how effective communication can help us envision, articulate, and navigate towards our desired future, in our relationships, in our work, and in society.

Episode Reference Links:

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********
Thank you to our sponsors. These partnerships support the ongoing production of the podcast, allowing us to bring it to you at no cost.

Unleash your Superhuman potential with AI that meets you where you work. Learn more at superhuman.com

Join our Think Fast Talk Smart Learning Community and become the communicator you want to be.

156. Creative Communication: How Our Design Choices Illustrate Our Values Aug 20, 2024

Show notes

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 from a device to an app to a building, “People get excited about what it can do,” he says, “but what should it do? What do we want? What's the desirable outcome that we want in the world?”

In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, Doorley and host Matt Abrahams discuss how applying design thinking to communication can help us connect more with each other, better understand the world, and create meaningful change.

Episode Reference Links:

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Newsletter Signup + English Language Learning >>> FasterSmarter.io
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********
Thank you to our sponsors. These partnerships support the ongoing production of the podcast, allowing us to bring it to you at no cost.

Unleash your Superhuman potential with AI that meets you where you work. Learn more at superhuman.com

Join our Think Fast Talk Smart Learning Community and become the communicator you want to be.

155. Can We Be Candid? How to Communicate Clearly and Directly Aug 13, 2024

Show notes

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 communication. As she says, “I'm very direct. I don't believe in playing games, going around people, and being passive-aggressive. I shoot straight.”

Rice graduated from Stanford University in 1986 and served as the US Ambassador to the United Nations from 2009 to 2013 and the National Security Advisor from 2013 to 2017. She is currently the Bernard and Susan Liautaud Visiting Fellow. Rice is the author of Tough Love: My Story of the Things Worth Fighting For.

But beyond being direct herself, Rice knows the value of allowing others to be direct with her. “If you give it, you got to be able to take it,” she says. “I've benefited at various stages of my career from colleagues who've been kind enough to give me the hard truths or the tough love to enable me to be better and help me to recognize where I'm falling short.”

In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, Rice and host Matt Abrahams discuss how to foster personal and professional relationships where candidness can thrive — even when communicating with those we don’t agree with.

Episode Reference Links:

Susan E. Rice
Susan’s Book: Tough Love
Ep.35 Leading from the Hot Seat: How to Communicate Under Pressure

Connect:

Premium Signup >>>> Think Fast Talk Smart Premium
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Newsletter Signup + English Language Learning >>> FasterSmarter.io
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Matt Abrahams >>> LinkedIn

********
Thank you to our sponsors. These partnerships support the ongoing production of the podcast, allowing us to bring it to you at no cost.

Unleash your Superhuman potential with AI that meets you where you work. Learn more at superhuman.com

Join our Think Fast Talk Smart Learning Community and become the communicator you want to be.

154. Rethinks: Communicating Better as a Leader Aug 06, 2024

Show notes

"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 Smartepisode from 2022, Levin reflects on the importance of communication as a leader. There is a balance, he says, in being direct with your dialogue, while also "leaving space for people to form their own opinions, to discuss ideas, to debate."

Episode Reference Links:

Jonathan Levin
Original Episode: Ep.68 Directive vs. Dialogue: Communicating Better as a Leader

Connect:

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Newsletter Signup + English Language Learning >>> FasterSmarter.io
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Matt Abrahams >>> LinkedIn

********
Thank you to our sponsors. These partnerships support the ongoing production of the podcast, allowing us to bring it to you at no cost.

Unleash your Superhuman potential with AI that meets you where you work. Learn more at superhuman.com

Join our Think Fast Talk Smart Learning Community and become the communicator you want to be.

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