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 yo...
10
277. How Small Choices Shape Better Communication
<p>Real change isn’t about knowing what to do — it’s about actually doing it, one small choice at a time.</p><p><br>Change doesn’t come from one big breakthrough. It comes from the small choices we make over and over — often in moments we barely notice.</p><p><br>Eric Zimmer, behavior coach, host of The One You Feed podcast, and author of How A Little Becomes A Lot, says the real challenge isn’t figuring out what to do — it’s closing the gap between knowing and doing. “We all have areas where we know exactly what would...
276. Dead End Goals: Are Your Ambitions Actually Leading You Toward Meaning?
<p>The goals we set often lead us away from the meaning we ultimately seek.</p><p><br>Meaning in life isn’t a concrete point we can route toward. That’s why we need what Arthur Brooks calls “proxy goals” — and much better ones than we typically choose.</p><p>Brooks, a professor at Harvard Business School and author of The Meaning of Your Life: Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness, says that meaning can't be pursued directly, but rather through proxy goals — markers that lead us to what we're really seeking. “The big, complex, meaning-filled things in life, you can...
275. Cracking the Code: Learn The Unspoken Rules of Workplace Success
<p>Why mastering unspoken workplace communication is essential to long-term career success.</p><p><br></p><p>Succeeding at work doesn’t just depend on how hard you work or how smart you are. According to Erin McGoff, it often comes down to whether you understand the “secret language” everyone else seems to be speaking.</p><p><br>McGoff is a career creator, Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, and author of The Secret Language of Work: Hyper Helpful Scripts for Every Situation. Known for her wildly popular AdviceWithErin platform, she helps millions of professionals phrase things more effectively — without sounding stiff or robotic...
274. Choose Connection Over Perfection: Why Happiness Starts with Better Communication
<p>How to communicate for deeper connection—and greater happiness.</p><p><br>Happiness isn’t just a feeling—it’s something you can actively shape through how you think, connect, and communicate.</p><p><br>Sonja Lyubomirsky, a distinguished professor of psychology at the University of California, Riverside and co-author of How to Feel Loved: The Five Mindsets That Get You More of What Matters Most, defines happiness as two key components: “being happy in your life and being happy with your life.” And while many people separate happiness from meaning or purpose, she explains that “they almost always go together.”...
273. Quick Thinks: How to Create Messages People Remember
<p>Memorable communication isn’t about saying more—it’s making the right idea stick. </p><p><br></p><p>No matter how compelling a presentation feels in the moment, most of what you say won’t last in your audience’s memory. The key isn’t trying to make people remember everything — it’s ensuring they remember what matters most.</p><p><br>Carmen Simon is a cognitive neuroscientist, author, and expert on how the brain pays attention and forms memories. Her research explores how communication can move beyond passive listening and become an experience the brain actually holds onto. “The way we...
272. Say What Sticks: The Neuroscience of Memorable Communication
<p>People are forgetful. Here’s how to make your messages more memorable.</p><p><br>After any presentation, your audience will forget about 90% of what you said. That’s okay, says Carmen Simon — just make sure they remember the right 10%.</p><p>Simon is a cognitive neuroscientist, speaker, author, and expert on how the brain processes and retains information. Her research reveals a humbling truth: “We forget our lives almost as quickly as we live them,” she says. But instead of fighting our forgetfulness, Simon believes we can work with it — by getting intentional about what we want people to remember...
271. Rethinks: The Key to Lasting Behavior Change
<p>The secret to building habits that stick.</p><p><br></p><p>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.”</p><p><br></p><p>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...
270. Make Belief: The Mindset Shifts That Make Your Communication Stronger
<p>Why beliefs can either cap our potential or push us toward possibility.</p><p><br>What you believe about yourself could be holding you back. Fortunately, Nir Eyal says beliefs aren’t truths — and you can choose new ones.</p><p>Eyal is a former lecturer at Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Stanford d.school, a celebrated author, and a renowned expert on human behavior and potential. His latest book, Beyond Belief, reveals how limiting beliefs — like “I’m a bad communicator” — quietly shape what we see, feel, and do. “A belief doesn't have to be true” to limit our poten...
269. Ask Matt Anything: Bring Clarity to Complicated Conversations
<p>Practical insights to help you communicate with more intention in everyday moments.</p><p><br></p><p>What’s the difference between reacting and responding? How do you move from memorizing your words to truly conversing in the moment? And how do you keep growing as a communicator in everyday moments?</p><p>Communication isn’t about having the perfect script. It’s about staying present enough to respond with intention. In fast-moving conversations, emotions rise, thoughts race, and structure can disappear. Yet it’s in the pause — the breath before we speak — that clarity begins.</p><p>In this Ask Mat...
268. Going Viral: How To Balance Authenticity and Spectacle
<p>How to communicate who you are online.</p><p><br></p><p>You may not think of yourself as a content creator, but in the creator economy, Angèle Christin says we all have to learn how to communicate who we are online.</p><p>Christin is an associate professor of communications at Stanford University and a senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI. According to her, “we are all content creators now.” We may not all be influencers or podcast hosts, but “We are all putting content out there and creating a public persona,” says Christin. In the di...
