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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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Why what isn’t said can communicate more than what is spoken. We often speak in hints and half-truths, not because we can’t be direct, but because subtlety protects our relationships. “An awful lot of the time, we don’t just blurt out what we mean,” says Steven Pinker. “We hint, we wink, we beat around the bush — counting on our listener to read be…
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Transform how you communicate with tools that make your message stick. Clear communication isn’t just about sharing information — it’s about making ideas stick. That’s why Yuhki Yamashita, Chief Product Officer at Figma, believes the key to effective collaboration lies in turning complex concepts into simple, memorable visuals. For years, Figma has…
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To celebrate its second anniversary, we revisit our favourite tools and tips from Matt’s book, Think Faster, Talk Smarter. Original executive producer Jenny Luna turns the tables and interviews host and strategic communications lecturer Matt Abrahams about his bestselling book, Think Faster, Talk Smarter: How to Speak Successfully When You're Put o…
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Be ready, stay grounded, and communicate clearly — no matter what’s at stake. Communicating under pressure isn’t just a useful skill — it can be the difference between escalation and resolution. For Chris Voss, former FBI hostage negotiator and CEO of The Black Swan Group, it’s a daily discipline built on empathy, self-regulation, and intentional l…
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Transform how you communicate with tools that make your message stick. Great communication isn’t just about what you say — it’s about what your audience remembers. That’s why Jim Szafranski, CEO of Prezi, believes that visuals and storytelling are key to making ideas stick. For more than 15 years, Prezi has been reimagining the way we share informa…
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Reinventing your life or career starts with reflection and conversation. Making the leap — to a new career, to the next stage of a relationship, or to a different version of yourself — requires honest communication. For Ilana Golan, being “leap-ready” requires that we answer three questions: Why me? Why this? And why now? Golan knows all about thes…
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In the digital age, it’s critical to craft communication that fits the context. Like it or not, algorithms now decide whose messages get heard. “If you want to communicate effectively,” says Adam Aleksic, “you need to be exactly aware of what that medium is doing.” Aleksic is a linguist, author, and educational content creator with millions of foll…
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Why modern communication still relies on ancient words and narratives. All communication and connection depend on one thing: language. That’s why Laura Spinney says understanding language — where it comes from and how it evolves over time — can help us use it more effectively. “Language is incredibly powerful,” says Spinney, an author and journalis…
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By lightening up your communication, you can build serious connections. Humor in communication isn’t all fun and games. According to Alison Wood Brooks and Naomi Bagdonas, levity is one of the most serious tools we have in building successful connections. Wood Brooks and Bagdonas, both teachers, authors, and experts in the field of communication, r…
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Some conversations are uncomfortable, but avoiding them comes with a cost. You want a more successful career, a more fulfilling relationship, a more meaningful life? What if all that’s standing in your way — are the conversations that you’re avoiding? “Most things that we want in life are on the other side of a difficult conversation,” says Jenn Wy…
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How do you stay clear, calm, and precise when every word counts and there’s no room for error? Staying calm and focused while translating high-stakes conversations in real time isn’t just a language skill — it’s a masterclass in communication under pressure. And for Giampaolo Bianchi, simultaneous interpreter for the United Nations and World Health…
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Master the art of thinking on your feet and turning unpredictability into powerful communication. Being quick on your feet isn’t just a performance skill — it’s a communication necessity. And for Peter Sagal, longtime host of NPR’s Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me, it’s a craft he’s honed over more than two decades in front of a live audience. In this expa…
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When communicating with their employees, most firms have no idea who they’re talking to. Good communication is about knowing your audience. But if your organization is only focused on knowing your customers, James Root says you're forgetting a whole other cohort: your employees. Root is a senior partner at Bain & Company, Chair of Bain Futures, and…
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Real connection means understanding your audience, staying true to yourself, and creating space for others. How do you communicate who you are, what you stand for, and leave space for others to do the same? At the Stanford Seed Summit in Cape Town, South Africa, three GSB professors explored why real connection is built through authentic communicat…
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How to be a skilled conversationalist in work, love, and life. Whether you’re trying to build a romantic or professional connection, Rachel Greenwald’s advice is exactly the same. “Focus on how you make someone feel more than you focus on the words that you're saying,” she says. As a professional coach, Greenwald helps people develop better communi…
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Understanding your audience's psychology is the key to crafting communication that resonates. Persuading others isn't about magic spells or mind-reading tricks. According to Emily Falk, the real secret is simpler: know what your audience finds relevant, and you’ll be able to craft a message that resonates. Falk is a professor of communication, psyc…
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For your communication to be credible, you can’t just say it — you have to do it. Want people to believe what you say? According to Richard Edelman, the words you choose only get you halfway there. To build real trust, he says, you have to practice what you preach. “Action builds trust,” says Edelman. “If you don't do something, you can't talk abou…
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How to communicate clearly in any context, from newsrooms to the world stage. All good communication, whether spoken or written, is built on the same foundation. In everything from police reporting for a newspaper to serving as spokesman for the Pope, Greg Burke has found the key: "Keep it as simple as possible." Burke has worked as a journalist fo…
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How to turn doubt and suspicion into hopefulness and trust. 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,…
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Career growth starts with stepping outside your comfort zone. Building a successful career isn’t about following a set path—it’s about knowing when to evolve and embracing change. Whitney Johnson believes that success comes from disrupting yourself—challenging routines, stepping into discomfort, and continuously evolving. “People think staying in t…
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In the age of virtual communication, here’s how to ensure your messages convey what you mean. Texts. Emails. Slacks. Zooms. We’re communicating in more ways than ever, but Andrew Brodsky has a word of warning: Your virtual communication might be sending messages you’re not aware of. Brodsky is the author of PING: The Secrets of Successful Virtual C…
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Career success takes a status boost, not a power grab. How do you chart the career course you’ve always imagined? According to Alison Fragale, it’s about gaining influence through status, power, and ultimately, being “a likeable badass.” As a research psychologist, professor, speaker, and author, Fragale is on a mission to help women take control o…
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How to turn curiosity, clarity, and AI into your most powerful job search tools. Job search isn’t just about landing your next role—it’s about understanding who you are and how you want to show up in the world. According to Andrew Seaman, Senior Managing Editor for Jobs and Career Development at LinkedIn, that process begins with curiosity, not cer…
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Amidst constant change, clear communication is the key to navigating uncertainty. How do you communicate with others when you’re confused yourself? For Rob Siegel, leadership isn’t about avoiding uncertainty, it’s about embracing the clarity that ambiguity can bring. "What if ambiguity is the new normal?" asks Siegel, a venture investor and lecture…
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How victim, villain, and helpless stories sabotage our most important conversations. The hardest conversations aren’t just about what you say to the other person. According to Joseph Grenny, critical conversations begin with the stories that you tell yourself. As a leading expert on business performance and communication, and a New York Times bests…
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Great strategy starts with a question—and a story worth believing in. A good strategy isn’t just built—it’s told. For Martin Reeves, chairman of the BCG Henderson Institute and author of The Imagination Machine and Like: The Button That Changed the World, strategy and imagination are both deeply communicative processes, rooted in storytelling, curi…
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A live SXSW panel on how employee complaints illuminate the path to organizational innovation. Wrong question: How can AI revolutionize productivity in my organization? Right question: What do my employees hate most about their jobs? For the Portland Trail Blazers, a winning game plan for AI implementation didn’t begin with a tech-first approach — …
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How to have the conversations that are most difficult — and most important. Before you can have hard conversations with others, you need to have an honest conversation with yourself. That's the counterintuitive advice from Sheila Heen, who says our own internal narratives often derail our attempts at negotiation and conflict resolution. "The first …
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Stay sharp, sound confident, and speak with impact — even when you're put on the spot. Communicating clearly is challenging enough when there’s time to prepare. But in most situations — whether in meetings, casual conversations, or high-stakes moments — we rarely have the luxury of scripting our words. We must think and speak in real time. Spontane…
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The power of creating the reputation you want to have. Whether you know it or not, you have a brand. What that brand is, says Lorraine Lee, doesn’t happen by accident. “You can either form and create it, or you can let people define it for you.” A teacher, content creator, speaker, and author of Unforgettable Presence: Get Seen, Gain Influence and …
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Alex Rodriguez shares why in sports and business, striking out is just a part of the game. From the baseball field to the boardroom, great communication is critical for success. But as Alex Rodriguez knows, we don’t always hit it out of the park. For this sports superstar turned entrepreneur, striking out is never the end of the story. “I'm fifth a…
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This live Q&A with host Matt Abrahams celebrates 200 episodes of Think Fast, Talk Smart. In an age of endless content and information, how do we ensure our communication cuts through the noise? Across 200 episodes of Think Fast, Talk Smart, host Matt Abrahams has discovered four essential ingredients that help messages rise above the chatter: conci…
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This three-part miniseries is all about keeping your cool when speaking on the spot. Communicating effectively can be challenging enough, even with plenty of time to prepare what we want to say. But for most of our communication, there’s no time to plan, practice, or perfect — we have to respond in the moment. Spontaneous communication is a part of…
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This three-part miniseries is all about keeping your cool when speaking on the spot. Communicating effectively can be challenging enough, even with plenty of time to prepare what we want to say. But for most of our communication, there’s no time to plan, practice, or perfect — we have to respond in the moment. Spontaneous communication is a part of…
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continue reading
This three-part miniseries is all about keeping your cool when speaking on the spot. Communicating effectively can be challenging enough, even with plenty of time to prepare what we want to say. But for most of our communication, there’s no time to plan, practice, or perfect — we have to respond in the moment. Spontaneous communication is a part of…
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continue reading
Communication isn’t about perfect word choice, it’s about connecting with others. For native speakers and language learners alike, communicating comes with all kinds of challenges. But no matter how much we stumble over our words, Lindsay McMahon says communication isn’t about perfection — it’s about connection. The CEO and founder of All Ears Engl…
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Stanford experts answer live questions on leadership, authenticity, and communication. What happens when four top Stanford thinkers take live questions from a room full of leaders? In Part 2 of this special Think Fast, Talk Smart series from the Stanford LEAD Me2We Conference, Matt Abrahams and his panel of expert GSB faculty—Allison Kluger, Naomi …
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Effective leadership begins with the way you communicate. Leading with impact isn’t about speaking louder—it’s about communicating in ways that resonate with what people already value. In Part 1 of this special two-part series from the Stanford LEAD Me2We Conference, Matt Abrahams brings together four expert GSB faculty—Allison Kluger, Nir Halevy, …
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Turn Q&A from nerve-wracking to confidence-boosting with strategies for clear, controlled answers. A great presentation doesn’t end with the final slide—it continues through the Q&A, where real engagement happens. Yet, for many speakers, this is the most nerve-wracking part. In this episode, Matt Abrahams explores why Q&A can feel intimidating and …
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How to craft compelling stories that captivate, inspire, and make an impact. Great storytelling isn't just about telling tales—it’s about crafting experiences that captivate, inspire, and drive change. In this special Quick Thinks bonus episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, Matt Abrahams welcomes bestselling author Dan Heath for a masterclass on the p…
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How to craft communication that your audience will remember. Why do some messages stick, while others go in one ear and out the other? When it comes to crafting memorable communication, Ada Aka says not all verbiage is created equal. “Certain words are intrinsically more memorable than others,” says Aka, an assistant professor of marketing at Stanf…
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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,” s…
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Why numbers are only as compelling as the narratives we attach to them. Facts and figures can be your friend, but before you load your presentation full of data, Miro Kazakoff has a word of caution: “Data’s objective, but people are not.” You might think that your data speaks for itself, but Kazakoff says numbers need a narrative. A senior lecturer…
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How to really know what your audience is thinking. To be a great communicator, you have to get out of your own head. But that’s not all, says Matt Lieberman. According to him, you also have to get into the head of someone else. “Mind-reading is this remarkable ability that humans have,” explains Lieberman, a professor of psychology, director of UCL…
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Rethink career success by testing, adapting, and staying open to unexpected opportunities. Career planning isn’t as straightforward as we often assume—but according to Dorie Clark, that’s actually a good thing. Instead of following a rigid path, she believes we should be “treating our careers like a series of experiments”—testing, iterating, and st…
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Why good communication starts with tapping into your power. Impactful communication isn’t just about the words you use. According to Chris Lipp, it’s about the power you deliver them with. “When we have a belief in ourselves, what we say changes,” says Lipp, a professor at Tulane University’s Freeman School of Business and author of The Science of …
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How to captivate an audience and make your message stick. Pitches and presentations don’t fall flat because speakers aren’t prepared. For Guy Kawasaki, it’s because speakers miss the point. “If all you're trying to do is inform, you're not going to pull it off. You have to entertain your audience.” A renowned author, speaker, and entrepreneur, Kawa…
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Stay prepared, build your network, and take control of your career. Most of us know that career growth is important—but according to Catherine Fisher, we're thinking about it all wrong. It’s not just about landing a job or climbing the ladder; it’s about staying adaptable, building strong connections, and being proactive about opportunities before …
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Reframe anxiety as a strength and use stress to enhance your communication. Stress, anxiety, nervousness — when these feelings inevitably arise, lecturer Kelly McGonigal says it’s not about making them go away, but using them to your advantage. “What I have come to value about anxiety,” says McGonigal, “is it’s a sign that I care.” As she explains,…
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Clarify your purpose — and stop wasting time. The new year gives us an opportunity to reflect on who we are and who we want to be. As we set resolutions and prepare for evolutions, this special four-part series on communication, happiness, and well-being explores practical ways to enhance our lives through better communication, deeper connections, …
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