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 idea is going to die.” How can presenters use empathy to put their audience at center stage? As Duarte discusses with host Matt Abrahams in this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, it’s about seeking to understand before you start speaking. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 complex layers of geopolitics, history, language, dialect, culture, faith, family history, and power hierarchies. So how do we show compassion to others, especially when we disagree with them? Yasmin and host Matt Abrahams explore strategies for more empathetic communication in this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart. More resources: https://seemayasmin.com/what-the-fact-finding-the-truth-in-all-the-noise/ https://seemayasmin.com/viral-bs-medical-myths-and-why-we-fall-for-them-hardcover/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 convincing clients and holding attention to connecting with loved ones in our lives,” Berger says. Magic words allow us to change minds, engage audiences, and drive action. In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart: The Podcast, Berger and host Matt Abrahams discuss how we can leverage their power in our own communication. Think Fast, Talk Smart is a podcast produced by Stanford Graduate School of Business. Each episode provides concrete, easy-to-implement tools and techniques to help you hone and enhance your communication skills. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 her class and lab, Equity by Design, Sterling explores the structural and cultural drivers of workplace inequality. In this episode of Think Fast Talk Smart, she and Matt Abrahams discuss how organizations can leverage social networks, DE&I efforts, and better communication to create better outcomes for individuals and the collective. More resources: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpu4Xbz5Tjg, https://gsb-faculty.stanford.edu/adina-sterling/equity-by-design-lab/ https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/working-papers/egalitarian-effort-how-cultural-scrutiny-produces-gendered-hiring https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/working-papers/fairness-job-fairs-how-race-gender-influence-relational See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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.  Show Notes:  [2:00] Know Your Audience: First and foremost is their knowledge level relative to the topic that we're discussing. Do they know a lot or do they know just a little? Three guiding principles for Successful Communication [3:51] Principle 1. Set Your Communication Goal: A goal has three major parts: information, emotion, and action. The best metric of success is: Is your audience leaving knowing what you want them to know? Feeling how you want them to feel? And doing what you want them to do? [5:08] Principle 2. Structure your message. Using: What, So What, Now What.  [7:10] Principle 3. The Art of the Paraphrase. [9:14] Using Paraphrasing to move a conversation forward [11:01] Ask me anything: [11:24] Question 1: What is the worst communication advice that you have ever given or received? [13:11] Question 2: How can you try to understand the expectations or knowledge or background of your audience in order to make your presentation effective? [16:05] Question 3: How do I communicate negative feedback to a colleague, especially when there's an action step involved? [18:30] Question 4: How would you make your first impression? [22:00] Question 5: How has virtual communication changed the way we communicate? See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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. [Show Notes] The purpose of ChatGPT is to provide informative and accurate responses to questions in natural language. ChatGPT uses vast amounts of text data from the internet to generate responses based on patterns it has seen in the data. It is important to critically evaluate ChatGPT's responses and not rely on them as the sole source of information. The ultimate responsibility for ensuring academic integrity and ethical behavior lies with the individuals using ChatGPT. Effective communication skills are still essential, even with the existence of ChatGPT, as it cannot replace the human interaction and emotional intelligence that comes with face-to-face communication. [00:00:00] Introduction: Matt Abrahams welcomes listeners to this special episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, where he will be interviewing an AI algorithm, ChatGPT. [00:01:17] ChatGPT's Purpose: Matt asks ChatGPT to define its purpose and give two examples of how it can be used. ChatGPT responds by saying its purpose is to provide informative and accurate responses to questions in natural language and gives examples of answering factual questions and generating creative text. [00:02:04] How ChatGPT Gets Its Information: Matt asks ChatGPT where it gets its information to answer questions. ChatGPT explains that it is a language model trained by OpenAI on vast amounts of text data from the internet, which allows it to generate responses based on patterns it has seen in the data. [00:03:07] Ensuring Accuracy and Ethics: Matt asks ChatGPT about safeguards to ensure its answers are appropriate, accurate, and ethical. ChatGPT emphasizes the importance of critically evaluating its responses and notes that not all information on the internet is accurate. It also states that the ultimate responsibility for ensuring academic integrity and ethical behavior lies with the individuals using ChatGPT. [00:04:23] Reducing Speaking Anxiety: Matt asks ChatGPT to give advice on reducing speaking anxiety in a fun way, as a Dr. Seuss rhyme. ChatGPT provides advice on deep breathing, being confident, and speaking with pride. [00:04:53] The Need for Human Communication Skills: Matt asks ChatGPT if people still need to learn how to communicate better now that it exists. ChatGPT responds by saying that effective communication skills are still essential, as it cannot replace the human interaction and emotional intelligence that comes with face-to-face communication. [00:05:00] Conclusion: Matt concludes the episode by thanking ChatGPT for joining him on Think Fast, Talk Smart and for providing valuable insights into the world of AI and communication. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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—those motivators before they encounter [them] in the communicator’s message,” Cialdini says, “bringing people’s focus of attention onto something that is nested in the message…before that message is delivered, so they have been readied for the concept.” In this episode, Matt Abrahams and Cialdini talk about the motivating power of FOMO, getting better advice from others, and how your next wine purchase could be influenced by what music is playing in the shop. Think Fast, Talk Smart is a podcast produced by Stanford Graduate School of Business. Each episode provides concrete, easy-to-implement tools and techniques to help you hone and enhance your communication skills. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 podcast episode, Matt Abrahams sits down with Strober and social innovation leader Abby Davisson to discuss the thorny topics of work, money, career, and love. In their new book, Money and Love: An Intelligent Roadmap for Life’s Biggest Decisions, the coauthors provide a framework for communicating in and around tough decisions with those we love. These may include caring for aging relatives, expanding your family, changing careers or moving. “If you are in a relationship, maybe you have kids or other people living in your household, the first thing you need to realize is that your career decisions are going to affect the whole ecosystem,” Davisson says. “It’s very important not just to clarify what you want, but to anticipate and think about the impact on those around you.” Think Fast, Talk Smart is a podcast produced by Stanford Graduate School of Business. Each episode provides concrete, easy-to-implement tools and techniques to help you hone and enhance your communication skills. More resources: Myra Strober: Breaking Barriers at Stanford GSB  Achieving Balance In Work and Life, video with Myra Strober Myra Strober: How the Workplace Works — or Doesn't — for Families An Economist’s Take on Why Parental Leave Matters How Companies Can Solve the Pay Equity Problem Money and Love: An Intelligent Roadmap for Life's Biggest Decisions, HarperCollins Strober and Davisson on Forbes See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 footage from Matt Abrahams's conversation with Shiv from November of 2020 that touches on how to best approach writing emails. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 conversation strategies for active listening, turning anxiety into excitement, and knowing when it’s time to change the subject. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 negotiators tend to be the most creative,” says Gelfand. In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, Gelfand joins Matt Abrahams to discuss how creative communication can help us find solutions where everybody wins. Read part one of our interview with Gelfand here.  More resources: How Culture Affects Communication Styles Threatening Language Why The Pandemic Slammed Loose Countries See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As Professor Jesper Sørensen sees it, a winning strategy is the result of conversations, not commands. Sørensen says 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. Additional resources: Making Great Strategy: Arguing for Organizational Advantage, by Jesper B. Sørensen Glenn R. Carroll Class Takeaways: Crafting and Leading Strategy: Five lessons in five minutes — Professor Jesper Sørenson teaches how to create and implement a successful business strategy. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What’s the secret to coming up with good ideas? For Jeremy Utley, it’s about generating as many as possible.  The director of executive education at the Stanford d.school, Utley says, “very few problems we face in business or in life have a single right answer.” All ideas — the good, the bad, and the ugly — are “a necessary input to an innovation process,” and an essential step in getting to solutions that will actually work. In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, Utley and host Matt Abrahams explore how we can focus less on finding the “right” answer and open ourselves up to more innovative ideas. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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, feelings of stress alert us to things that matter to us and help us stay present in the moment — particularly useful, she says, when it comes to communication. In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, McGonigal and host Matt Abrahams discuss how to channel stress toward more effective communication and to a deeper connection to our own purpose and meaning. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As the dean of Stanford Graduate School of Business, Dean Jon Levin knows the importance of crafting the right message and sharing it in the right way. But, as he says, one of the biggest challenges for any leader is to know what to communicate, and how.  How do leaders strike the balance between being clear and directive, and as Levin says, “leaving space for people to form their own opinions, to discuss ideas, to debate”? He joins host and lecturer of strategic communications Matt Abrahams to discuss on this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Why do we drive on only one side of the road? Why don’t we sing in libraries? Why wear a swimsuit? For Professor Michele Gelfand, it all comes down to culture. As a cross-cultural psychologist, Gelfand is fascinated by social environments and their effects on human behavior, particularly, how strictly people adhere to social norms. In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, Gelfand joins host and lecturer of strategic communications Matt Abrahams to explain why some cultures are “tight” and “have strict social norms,” while others are “loose,” with “more permissibility of behavior.” SHOW NOTES Stanford GSB Insights Threatening Language Can Be Contagious. This New Tool Tracks Its Spread Why the Pandemic Slammed “Loose” Countries Like the U.S. MicheleGelfand.com Rule Makers, Rule Breakers: How Tight and Loose Cultures Wire Our World Mindset Quiz: How Tight or Loose Are You? Other articles:  The loosening of American culture over 200 years is associated with a creativity–order trade-off The relationship between cultural tightness–looseness and COVID-19 cases and deaths: a global analysis See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

“There’s no difference between the physiological response to something that you’re excited about and something that you’re nervous about or dreading,” says Andrew Huberman associate professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford University. In this “Best of” episode, we revisit one of our most popular interviews. In it, Huberman, from the wildly popular Huberman Lab Podcast, shares his research on the autonomic continuum, a spectrum between states of high alertness or fear all the way down to deep sleep, and shares how to use the system to your advantage. “If people can conceptualize that the anxiety or stress response is the same as the excitement response, they feel different,” Huberman says. Join the community & conversation by following the Think Fast, Talk Smart LinkedIn page. For transcripts & more information, visit the Think Fast, Talk Smart website Timestamps [1:32] Best of Summer series Episode 3 Homework Assignment: Breathing exercise [3:09] The autonomic continuum and the state we enter when we get nervous [5:59] Our nervous system when we're getting ready to go to the podium [10:02] A relaxation hack: forward movement under conditions of anxiety or high levels of alertness [12:50] EMDR Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing: side-to-side eye movement that triggers the suppression of fear in the brain [15:11] Ways to raise your stress tolerance for high levels of agitation in your body. [17:25] Breathing hack: Just an exhale is the wrong advice. You want to do a double inhale. So inhale twice through the nose. So inhale through the nose. And then before you exhale, sneak in a little bit more air and then do a long exhale. [20:05] What we can do to prepare for anxiety in advance. [22:50] Insight for virtual communication. [24:44] Huberman's answer to the Think Fast, Talk Smart three questions Matt asks all guests. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

“We need to be much more adaptive in the way we think about hybrid work,” says Michael Arena. “Experiment, experiment, experiment.” Innovation relies on teams connecting in very specific ways. But are those connections possible in a hybrid work reality? Glenn Carroll, a professor of management at Stanford GSB, and Michael Arena, a faculty member of Penn's Master's in Organizational Dynamics program, have been looking for the answer — studying how team interactions have changed since millions of workers went remote. In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, they discuss how teams can optimize their communications to keep innovating in a post-pandemic world. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How others perceive us in person and via social media can impact our careers and social standing. But we can build the reputation we want through conscious communication. On this podcast episode, strategic communication lecturers Matt Abrahams and Allison Kluger share techniques on effectively improving and managing your reputation. Listen for details on this episode’s “homework assignment” and share on LinkedIn. Join the community & conversation by following the Think Fast, Talk Smart LinkedIn page. Think Fast, Talk Smart on the Stanford GSB website Show Notes: Allison Kluger, Stanford GSB profile Reputation Rules, by Daniel Diermeier “How Tylenol Made a Comeback” NYTimes Allison Kluger: "Telling your Story Can Lead to Success and Opportunity" Allison Kluger: Last Lecture Series: “If Not You, Then Who” See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Your words — are they credible? Or are they what Paul Oyer calls “cheap talk?” According to professor of economics Paul Oyer, how our words align with our actions isn’t just a matter of communication, but a matter of economics too. Economic concepts hold in all areas of life, which Oyer’s research has explored in everything from Uber driving to online dating. “Economics is everywhere,” Oyer says. “It's an incredibly powerful lens to analyze almost anything in the real world.” Think Fast, Talk Smart is a production of Stanford Graduate School of Business. Join Matt Abrahams, lecturer in strategic communication, as he sits down with experts from across campus to discuss public speaking anxiety, speaking off the cuff, nailing a Q&A, and more. Find us on LinkedIn for more communication tips and techniques by searching "Think Fast, Talk Smart." Show Notes: An Economist Goes to the Game: How to Throw Away $580 Million and Other Surprising Insights from the Economics of Sports by Paul Oyer "Utility Player: Paul Oyer Explains How Economics Can Make Sports More Fun" Books by William Manchester Empire Falls by Richard Russo See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.