Think Fast Talk Smart: Communication Techniques – Details, episodes & analysis

“Acts of trust are the bedrock on which relationships are formed.”

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: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness. While many people feel suspicious of others and are reluctant to trust them, Zaki finds that relying on other people is a necessary part of forming relationships.

“Acts of trust are the bedrock on which relationships are formed,” Zaki says. “The only way that strangers become friends and friends become best friends, the only way that we can build partnerships is through a willingness to count on one another.”

In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, Zaki joins host Matt Abrahams to discuss practical strategies for fostering trust and challenging our cynical assumptions, offering a hopeful perspective on human nature, backed by surprising scientific insights.

Episode Reference Links:

• Jamil Zaki
• Jamil’s Lab: Stanford Social Neuroscience Lab 
• Jamil’s Book: Hope for Cynics
• Ep.84 Quick Thinks: How Others Define Us
• Ep. 129 Connect Deeply: How to Communicate So People Feel Seen and Heard

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• Episode Transcripts >>> Think Fast Talk Smart Website
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• Matt Abrahams >>> LinkedIn

Chapters:

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (02:21) - Defining Trust and Its Importance
• (03:12) - Building Better Trust
• (04:42) - Understanding Cynicism
• (07:05) - The Cynicism Spectrum
• (09:25) - Fostering Hopeful Skepticism
• (11:38) - Challenges of Overcoming Cynicism
• (16:28) - Self-Fulfilling Prophecies
• (18:49) - The Final Three Questions
• (27:42) - Conclusion

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Artificial intelligence can now do a lot of things. But if you’re worried about it taking your place as a communicator, Russ Altman says you need to question why you’re communicating in the first place.

Altman is a professor of bioengineering, a senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, and host of Stanford Engineering’s podcast, The Future of Everything. According to him, advancing technology isn’t a threat to human creativity and connection, but a tool we can use to raise our own standards for communication.

“If you're worried that a ChatGPT-type tool can replace you, you need to [ask]: Why am I communicating? What am I trying to say? Do I have a message?” he says. “If those things are true, it shouldn't be a problem. It should actually amplify and improve your message.”

In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, Altman and host Matt Abrahams explore how effective communication can help us envision, articulate, and navigate towards our desired future, in our relationships, in our work, and in society.

Episode Reference Links:

• Russ Altman
• The Future of Everything Podcast | Stanford University School of Engineering 
• Ep.109 Simplify! How to Communicate Complex Ideas Simply and Effectively
• Ep.3 When Knowing Too Much Can Hurt Your Communication: How to Make Complex Ideas Accessible

Connect:

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• Matt Abrahams >>> LinkedIn

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In our personal and professional lives, some conversations are harder than others. To navigate the difficulties of discussing what matters most, Professor Irv Grousbeck says we need the right balance of conviction and compassion.

At both Stanford Graduate School of Business and Stanford School of Medicine, Grousbeck teaches courses on managing difficult conversations. He equips students with skills to be direct while being respectful, to be strong while being warm, and to resist any urge to beat around the bush. "Directness, with respect, is essential,” he says. "So many of our students feel that if you're direct with someone, somehow that's harsh. The art of good conversation management, I think, does involve directness and respect at the same time."

In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, Grousbeck and host Matt Abrahams explore practical tips and strategies for navigating difficult conversations, from the importance of listening and pausing, to the value of rehearsing your words in advance.

Episode Reference Links:

• Irv Grousbeck
• Irv’s Book: New Business Ventures and the Entrepreneur 
• Center for Entrepreneurial Studies | Stanford Graduate School of Business

Connect:

• Premium Signup >>>> Think Fast Talk Smart Premium
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• Matt Abrahams >>> LinkedIn

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“It's not reassuring when we don't know the answers to critically important questions involved in health and wellbeing. But it's far more of a problem if we try to pretend we do.” In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, Stanford Medical School dean Lloyd Minor sits down with podcast host Matt Abrahams to discuss transparency in leadership. 

“Rather than pushing ambiguity away, we should lean into it, and use it as a stimulus to guide our communication in more effective ways.” They also discuss the benefits an introvert can bring to leadership roles and critical role listening plays for anyone in a position of power. 

Connect:

• Premium Signup >>>> Think Fast Talk Smart Premium
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• Newsletter Signup + English Language Learning >>> FasterSmarter.io
• Think Fast Talk Smart >>> LinkedIn,  Instagram, YouTube
• Matt Abrahams >>> LinkedIn

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Why do we do what we do? What factors drive us? And how do things like competition with others help us achieve our goals?

These are the questions most interesting to Szu-chi Huang, an associate professor of marketing with a specific interest in motivation. “Competition definitely increases motivation,” says Huang. “It makes attaining the goal more valuable.”

In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, Huang and host Matt Abrahams explore the intersection of human psychology, behavior, and goal attainment—and how communication connects them all.

Connect:

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• Think Fast Talk Smart >>> LinkedIn,  Instagram, YouTube
• Matt Abrahams >>> LinkedIn

Episode Reference Links:

• "How Pursuit of the Same Goal Can Turn Friends Into Foes," Stanford GSB Insights
• "Step by Step: Sub-Goals as a Source of Motivation," Faculty Research: Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 

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In relationships between imperfect people, mistakes are inevitable. And when we find ourselves with damaged connections, it’s a specific kind of communication that can help us make amends.

Fred Luskin is the Director of the Stanford University Forgiveness Project, and has devoted much of his career to researching the way forgiveness affects our psychological, relational, and physical health.

“Apology is one of the few things that research shows actually facilitates forgiveness,” Luskin explains. In this Think Fast, Talk Smart podcast with host and strategic communication lecturer Matt Abrahams, Luskin outlines what it means to truly say we’re sorry.

Connect:

• Premium Signup >>>> Think Fast Talk Smart Premium
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• Episode Transcripts >>> Think Fast Talk Smart Website
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• Think Fast Talk Smart >>> LinkedIn,  Instagram, YouTube
• Matt Abrahams >>> LinkedIn

  ********
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“Listening actively and deeply happens when I genuinely believe that the person who's speaking has intrinsic worth and brings a perspective that I lack and need.”

This episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart features Kristin Hansen, lecturer in management and executive director of Civic Health Project, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization working to reduce extreme polarization and foster healthier civil discourse in U.S. citizenry, politics, and media.

Together with host Matt Abrahams, Hansen shares how from our workplaces to our personal lives, communication thrives when we cultivate open-mindedness, intellectual humility, and genuine curiosity.

Connect:

• Premium Signup >>>> Think Fast Talk Smart Premium
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• Think Fast Talk Smart >>> LinkedIn,  Instagram, YouTube
• Matt Abrahams >>> LinkedIn

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“Anyone can make a complicated thing sound complicated. It takes real skill to make it sound simple.” This episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart features Steve Blank, seasoned entrepreneur, marketer, and Stanford adjunct professor in the Department of Management Science and Engineering. 

“Messages need to be memorable,” he tells podcast host and strategic communications lecturer Matt Abrahams. “The more memorable the message, the greater its ability to create change.”

Blank teaches courses on Lean Startups, innovation, and entrepreneurship, and throughout his 45 years of launching businesses and helping others do the same, he’s learned the importance of crafting the perfect message by keeping it simple.

Connect:

• Premium Signup >>>> Think Fast Talk Smart Premium
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• Think Fast Talk Smart >>> LinkedIn,  Instagram, YouTube
• Matt Abrahams >>> LinkedIn

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“Very often, you are not designing for yourself. And you kind of have to get out of your own way to effectively design with others’ needs in mind.”

In this podcast episode, lecturer Matt Abrahams is joined by Sarah Stein Greenberg, Director of the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design, aka the Stanford d.school, and author of Creative Acts for Curious People: How to Think, Create, and Lead in Unconventional Ways.

Together, Greenberg and Abrahams discuss how design and communication require seeing things from more than just our own point of view, and the tools we can use to broaden our perspectives.

Connect:

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• Matt Abrahams >>> LinkedIn

  ********
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“A mistake that some leaders make is to assume that the people in your organization share your core values. Some of the time some of them do, but there's a bunch who don't, and those are the most difficult sorts of situations.” 

In this episode, Political Science professors Neil Malhotra and Ken Shotts sit down with host and lecturer Matt Abrahams, to discuss how to lead others whose values may not align with your own. 

“The most effective thing you can do is to understand the other person's story and frame the language and arguments around them. And I think kind of this is what framing is about, it's fundamentally about being empathetic.”

Connect:

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• Matt Abrahams >>> LinkedIn

  ********
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Become a Faster Smarter Supporter by joining TFTS Premium.