Think Fast Talk Smart: Communication Techniques
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 navigating a high-stakes presentation, perfecting your email tone, or speaking off the cuff, Think Fast, Talk Smart equips you with the tools, techniques, and best practices to express yourself effectively in any situation. Enhance your communication skills to elevate your career and build stronger professional relationships. Tune in every Tuesday for new episodes. Subscribe now to unlock your potential as a thoughtful, impactful communicator. Learn more and sign up for our eNewsletter at fastersmarter.io.
Episodes
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 followers across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. His latest book, Algospeak: H...
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 journalist published in the Atlantic, National Geographic, Nature, and New Scientis...
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, recognize how crucial levity is to our professional and personal interactio...
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 Wynn, a professor at NYU Stern School of Business and previously the directo...
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 Organization, it’s a challenge he meets with presence, precision, and a ...
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 expanded conversation from our Spontaneous Speaking series, Sagal shares what it ...
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 author of The Archetype Effect, in which he reveals a simple but over...
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 communication.
For Jesper Sørensen, authentic organizational communication means tal...
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 communication skills, from executives in the business world to singles in the dating...
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, psychology, and marketing at the University of Pennsylvania, Vice Dean of the ...
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 about it.” As the president and CEO of Edelman, a leading global communication...
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 for Time Magazine and Fox News, as Director of Communications at IESE Busine...
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, and author of several books, including his most recent, Hope for Cynics: ...
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 their comfort zone is the safe choice,” she explains, “but real growth happens...
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 Communication. And as a professor of management at the University of Texas ...
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 of their careers. In her book Likeable Badass: How Women Get the Success Th...
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 certainty. “People assume they need to apply to dozens of jobs with a perfec...
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 lecturer at Stanford Graduate School of Business. From rapidly evolving AI to rat...
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 bestselling co-author of Crucial Conversations, Grenny explains that navigating...
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, curiosity, and the courage to reframe assumptions.
“A strategy is really j...
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