What does it take to be a more effective communicator? According to Dan Lyons , it starts with knowing when to shut your mouth. As a journalist, author, and screenwriter, Lyons knows a thing or two about wielding words. But as he reveals in his book, STFU: The Power of Keeping Your Mouth Shut in an Endlessly Noisy World , most of us talk too much and listen too little. “A great conversation is about listening. And it probably involves you talking less,” he says. In this episode of Think Fast, Ta...
Aug 01, 2023•22 min•Ep 100•Transcript available on Metacast Being a better listener has a lot to do with silence, says Collins Dobbs , a lecturer in management at Stanford Graduate School of Business. “A lot of people are uncomfortable with the smallest modicum of silence, but learning often happens when we create distance for useful reflection.” In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart , Dobbs talks with host Matt Abrahams about the importance of “space, pace, and grace” when you’re receiving others’ feedback and handling the emotions that come out dur...
Jul 25, 2023•25 min•Ep 99•Transcript available on Metacast How do we deal with professional blind spots? According to David Dodson , MBA ’87, we need the panoramic perspective of those who work around us. “360 reviews, done properly, are a massive competitive weapon,” says Dodson, also a lecturer in management at Stanford GSB and author of the new book, The Manager’s Handbook . Such comprehensive and constructive feedback, he says, can be transformational for employees and managers alike. “The first time I did a 360 review and got feedback was a massive...
Jul 18, 2023•24 min•Ep 98•Transcript available on Metacast Communication is like a game. For it to work, each person has to trust that their partner will play by the rules. As Professor Anat Admati says, the same is true for corporations and their stakeholders. “To have good governance, you need trust and accountability,” says Admati, a professor of finance and economics and the director of the Corporations and Society Initiative . How does a society ensure that markets, businesses, and governments are all on the same page? As Admati says, “We need rule...
Jul 11, 2023•21 min•Ep 97•Transcript available on Metacast Why is a boat a “she?” Why give names like Alexa or Siri to inanimate pieces of software? According to assistant professor of organizational behavior Ashley Martin , ascribing gender to everyday objects helps us to connect with them more deeply. “Gender is this humanizing force that allows people to interact with non-human things as if they’re human,” says Martin, whose research focuses on gender equality, gender inclusion, and gender’s role within team and organizational dynamics. And while Mar...
Jun 27, 2023•27 min•Ep 96•Transcript available on Metacast Saying no can seem risky. We worry about offending others, damaging relationships, or hurting our own reputation. But as Vanessa Patrick says, no is an empowering word that gives us greater agency in our lives. Saying no “is not a rejection of the other person,” says Patrick, a professor of Marketing at the University of Houston. Instead, it allows you to set boundaries and “[give] voice to what you believe and what you care about.” In her book, The Power of Saying No , Patrick introduces what s...
Jun 20, 2023•27 min•Ep 95•Transcript available on Metacast Breaking new ground, Think Fast, Talk Smart steps into the world of live events, bringing together an eager audience of LEAD students from Stanford University and a top-notch panel of former podcast guests: Jesper B. Sørensen , Sarah Soule , Jonathan Levav ,and Szu-chi Huang . Topics include crafting strategy for successful leadership and tips on how to effectively lead a hybrid team. This episode also features an interactive audience segment, where various participants of the Stanford LEAD prog...
Jun 13, 2023•30 min•Ep 94•Transcript available on Metacast How are you feeling right now? According to Celine Teoh , we all need to ask ourselves that question more often — and be more precise in how we answer it. Teoh is a facilitator of the course Interpersonal Dynamics , or “Touchy Feely,” as it’s affectionately known on campus. In her work with students and as a CEO coach, she encourages people to get better acquainted with their feelings. “Feelings are data,” she says. “In the rest of our logical lives, we would never make decisions on bad or highl...
Jun 06, 2023•19 min•Ep 93•Transcript available on Metacast “What people regret over time are things they didn't do. They didn't take that trip, they didn't ask that person out on a date. They didn't start that business,” says former political speech writer and best-selling author Dan Pink . “I think it's because we are slightly over-indexed on risk. We overstate the risk in many circumstances.” On this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart , strategic communications lecturer Matt Abrahams sits down with Pink to hear how we should all take more risks and how...
May 30, 2023•28 min•Ep 92•Transcript available on Metacast We’re often advised not to use “um” or “uh”, or “so” and “you know” in our communication. But linguist Valerie Fridland might argue otherwise. “Language is about how we encode both the linguistic message and a social message,” she says. “Crutch words … are really valuable and they have arisen to serve a need.” In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart , Fridland sits down with host and strategic communications lecturer Matt Abrahams to discuss how and when we use "you know","so", and other fille...
May 23, 2023•31 min•Ep 91•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart , lecturer and podcast host Matt Abrahams sits down with David Eagleman , a neuroscientist and the host of the PBS series The Brain, to discuss why our brains are wired for storytelling and how new senses might impact our connection and communication with others. “I’ve always been really interested in this idea of how we can pass information to the brain via unusual channels,” Eagleman says. “We’ve got our eyes or ears or fingertips and our nose, we’re v...
May 16, 2023•22 min•Ep 90•Transcript available on Metacast 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 communication skills, from executives in the business world to singles in the dating world. Building deep connections may at times be challenging, but as Greenwald says, it’s ultimately not complicated. “You're demonstra...
May 09, 2023•26 min•Ep 89•Transcript available on Metacast *This episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart won " Best Business Podcast Episode " at the 2023 Webby Awards.* “You’re not going to hit the mark with everybody, but you still need to be mindful of everybody,” says Jonathan Levav , a professor of marketing at Stanford Graduate School of Business. “That’s critical to create an environment where communication is effective.” In this podcast episode, Levav sits down with podcast host Matt Abrahams to talk about how to lead from home and how to foster an en...
May 02, 2023•22 min•Ep 88•Transcript available on Metacast We’ve all been there — we think we understand something, but when it comes time to explain it to someone else, we flounder. According to Gregory LaBlanc , a lecturer in management at Stanford GSB, attempting to communicate concepts reveals whether or not we properly grasped them in the first place. “If you think you understand something but you're incapable of communicating it, it probably means that you don't really understand it,” he says. For communication to be effective, LaBlanc says it’s n...
Apr 25, 2023•22 min•Ep 87•Transcript available on Metacast 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, habit formation isn’t a product of simply doing something over and over again. “It's not a function of repetition,” he says, “it's a function ...
Apr 18, 2023•21 min•Ep 86•Transcript available on Metacast Having to communicate in a language other than our native tongue can be quite a challenge, especially without a script or prepared speech. In this "Rethinks" episode, we revisit Matt's conversation with Kenneth Romeo about specific tactics that non-native speakers can use to handle in-the-moment challenges. Romeo also discusses why letting go of perfection is a key step toward speaking with confidence. Romeo has served as the associate director of the Stanford Language Center and a teacher of En...
Apr 11, 2023•16 min•Ep 85•Transcript available on Metacast “The self is incompatible with freedom, the way most people understand it, because the self is a constraint,” says social psychologist and professor of organizational behavior Brian Lowery . “The ‘you’ you’re talking about is actually the relationships you have, the social interactions you have and the cultural context you exist in." In this Quick Thinks episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart , Lowery sits down with podcast host and lecturer in strategic communications Matt Abrahams to talk about his...
Apr 04, 2023•16 min•Ep 84•Transcript available on Metacast “If you're not living life according to your own values, you're most likely living them according to someone else's,” says Charlotte Burgess-Auburn . Burgess-Auburn is a designer, artist, educator, and the Director of Community at the d.school. With her recently published guide, You Need A Manifesto: How To Craft Your Convictions And Put Them To Work , she aims to help people identify their core values and then codify them to chart a course of meaning and purpose. “A manifesto is a statement of ...
Mar 28, 2023•21 min•Ep 83•Transcript available on Metacast It’s easy to feel like the star of the show when giving a presentation. But according to communication guru Nancy Duarte , you’re not the hero of this story. For Duarte, founder and CEO of world-renowned communication consulting firm Duarte Inc, effective communication is built on the foundation of empathy, which means considering your audience first and foremost. “All the attention is on us. But in reality, the audience is the one,” she says. “If they don’t leave with your idea adopted, your id...
Mar 21, 2023•23 min•Ep 82•Transcript available on Metacast Why does disagreement feel so personal? According to author, journalist, and physician Seema Yasmin , it’s because beliefs aren’t just about what we think, they’re about who we are. “What [people] believe is entrenched in them, and it’s to do with their sense of belonging and their sense of identity,” says Yasmin. Whether we’re butting heads over something trivial like sports or something major like COVID-19 vaccines, Yasmin points out that the disagreement is just the surface — underneath are c...
Mar 14, 2023•23 min•Ep 81•Transcript available on Metacast Words have impact. But when it comes to enchanting audiences and captivating with communication, Jonah Berger , PhD ’07, says some words are more potent than others. Berger is a Wharton School professor and an internationally bestselling author. His most recent book, Magic Words: What to Say to Get Your Way , identifies language we can use to communicate more effectively in all sorts of personal and professional contexts. “Subtle shifts in language can have a huge impact on everything from convi...
Mar 08, 2023•30 min•Ep 80•Transcript available on Metacast If we want healthier companies, schools, and teams associate professor of organizational behavior Adina Sterling says investing in the health of marginalized groups “can have enormous spillover effects for everyone.” Sterling is an organizational theorist and economic sociologist whose research explores how human relationships affect organizations and markets. As she says, “The outcomes that individuals, groups, and organizations experience have to do with the social networks that they have.” In...
Feb 28, 2023•26 min•Ep 79•Transcript available on Metacast To celebrate our 75th episode , we hosted a live "Ask Me Anything" event with Matt. In this global gathering, listeners called in with questions ranging from making a first impression and giving negative feedback to presenting virtually and the worst communication advice Matt's ever received. In addition to audience questions, Matt also shares a short lecture to outline his top three guiding principles when it comes to being a confidence speaker and leader. Connect: Premium Signup >>>&g...
Feb 14, 2023•27 min•Ep 78•Transcript available on Metacast In this "Quick Thinks" episode, host Matt Abrahams interviews ChatGPT, an AI natural language processing chatbot, about its purpose, sources of information, ethical considerations, and the importance of human communication skills. To produce this episode, Matt typed his questions to ask ChatGPT, then recorded them in the studio. Producers then used Descript Overdub to "read" ChatGPT's responses. The purpose of ChatGPT is to provide informative and accurate responses to questions in natural langu...
Feb 07, 2023•11 min•Ep 77•Transcript available on Metacast Join Matt Abrahams, a lecturer of strategic communication at Stanford GSB, as he sits down with experts from across campus to discuss public speaking anxiety, speaking off the cuff, nailing a Q&A, and more. Connect: Premium Signup >>>> Think Fast Talk Smart Premium Email Questions & Feedback >>> hello@fastersmarter.io Episode Transcripts >>> Think Fast Talk Smart Website Newsletter Signup + English Language Learning >>> FasterSmarter.io Think Fast T...
Feb 01, 2023•2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Want to change someone’s mind? First, explains Robert Cialdini , you have to change their framing. For Cialdini, the Regent's Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Marketing at Arizona State University, persuasion begins before we even deliver our pitch or presentation. Through what he calls “ Pre-suasion ,” communicators can prime audiences to receive messages in a specific way, simply by drawing their attention in specific directions. “It involves focusing people on—putting them in mind of—thos...
Jan 24, 2023•29 min•Ep 76•Transcript available on Metacast Do love and money mix? Labor economist and Stanford Graduate School of Business professor emerita Myra Strober says absolutely. “Separating money and love is not a good idea. I have had 40 years to think about this, and, in my class at the GSB on work and family, each semester I realize how important it is to intertwine love and money." In this episode, Matt Abrahams sits down with Strober and social innovation leader Abby Davisson to discuss the thorny topics of work, money, career, and love. I...
Jan 10, 2023•24 min•Ep 75•Transcript available on Metacast In one of our most popular episodes, professor of Marketing Baba Shiv shares his research on how emotions affect decision making. Knowing this, and applying techniques to help guide our audience through information and emotion, can help us make our messages stick. In this best-of episode we've included extra audio from Matt Abrahams's conversation with Shiv from November of 2020 that touches on how to best approach writing emails. Connect: Premium Signup >>>> Think Fast Talk Smart Pr...
Dec 20, 2022•34 min•Ep 74•Transcript available on Metacast As a communication expert, Alison Wood Brooks spends a lot of time talking about talking. But, as she says, listening is just as important. “My course is called TALK,” says Wood Brooks, who is the O'Brien Associate Professor of Business Administration and Hellman Faculty Fellow at Harvard Business School. “The great irony is that it should really be called LISTEN . It’s hard to be a good listener yet so very important.” In the latest episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart , Wood Brooks covers convers...
Dec 06, 2022•26 min•Ep 73•Transcript available on Metacast When it comes to negotiating and managing conflict, Professor Michele Gelfand says it’s time to get creative. Everybody has wants and needs. So what do we do when our priorities compete with those of other people? According to Gelfand, a professor of organizational behavior, negotiations and conflict management are exercises in creative problem-solving, ones where we look for ways to not only get what we want, but for those on the other side of the table to get what they want too. “The best nego...
Nov 22, 2022•14 min•Ep 72•Transcript available on Metacast 
