Think Smart Talk Fast Podcast: Improving Your Communication Skills

 

 I met an engineer at a business function two weeks ago who proudly announced his Master's in Science degree from Drexel University. He asked me about my education and I explained that I have a Master's degree in Communications.

 He replied, "That's one of those squishy degrees."

My reply was based on listening to episodes of Think Fast, Talk Smart: Communication Techniques. I said, "With your degree, you can communicate with other engineers. With my degree, I can communicate with everyone about everything." He excused himself to raid the shrimp cocktail float.

Think Fast, Talk Smart: Communication Techniques

is a weekly podcast hosted by lecturer Matt Abrahams. It provides actionable, research-backed advice to help professionals improve their communication skills, specifically focusing on spontaneity, reducing anxiety, and delivering clear, confident messages in high-stakes, real-world scenarios. 

Host Matt Abrahams is a lecturer of Strategic Communication at Stanford Graduate School of Business, and on the show he sits down with experts in the field to discuss real-world challenges. How do I send my message clearly when put on the spot? How do I write emails to get my point across?

 The podcast specializes in "spontaneous speaking"—situations like Q&A sessions, impromptu presentations, and providing feedback. Episodes feature expert interviews covering topics such as managing public speaking anxiety, building rapport, and using technology. The goal of the podcast is simple: To help listeners become more authentic, engaging, and confident communicators.

 As a host, Matt Abrahams embodies the soul of the show. He is an expert communicator -- articulate, efficient, concise, insightful, an excellent listener, and with a strong sense of wit.

Abrahams has a book out -- Think Faster, Talk Smarter: How to Speak Successfully When You're Put on the Spot. The book provides actionable, science-based techniques to improve spontaneous communication. It focuses on managing anxiety and using structures to deliver calm, confident, and clear, impromptu responses in high-pressure, unprepared situations like meetings or Q&As.  

Some recent episodes that exemplify the craft of the show include CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS, a Washington Post columnist, and author of Age of Revolutions, he says that he has found the key to navigating change and conflict. “The most important thing is being genuinely curious,” he says, “genuinely believing that everybody has a story to tell. Everybody has something to teach you. Everybody has a lesson you can learn.”

An episode with Nick Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic and former editor-in-chief of Wired, was both illuminating and teeth-gnashing. It was illuminating because Thompson is adept at "being unmistakably clear and unmistakably yourself."

“Clear beats clever,” Thompson said on the episode, stressing that authenticity and specificity are what make messages land. “If you can get across what you're really trying to say— if you can say it honestly, specifically, and ideally briefly—that's good. And if you can say it in a way that feels like you, that's great.”

Here's the frustrating part. Beyond journalism, Thompson is an elite marathon runner, ranking among the top competitive runners in the world, an identity that, for him, isn’t separate from writing or leadership but deeply connected to it. “[Running] has taught me all kinds of habits of mind and discipline and pacing,” he says in the episode. “There are all kinds of lessons from the sport that apply to my business life.”

Not only is the guy a terrific writer, he is an elite marathon runner. For me, a so-so writer who can make a 10k run, this is too much power for one man to have! 

The show's topic goes to the deep end of the communications pool with such show titles as Complexity to Connection: Humanizing High-Stakes Communication, How to Navigate Conflict: Tools For Productive Communication, and How to Stop Performing and Start Communicating with Presence.

There's a lot to like and admire in this show. Abrahams is a top-notch interviewer with the curiosity of a cat. He listens intently, adds insight carefully, instructs his listeners when he thinks it's valuable, and draws the best from his guests. I also admire any podcast that designs a new episode logo for each show. It shows attention to detail. It's very Steve Jobs-ian. 

 

  I highly recommend Think Fast, Talk Smart: Communication Techniques. In a world where social media, texting, political polarization, and email have transformed communications from an interpersonal art form into a blunt instrument used without forethought, this show can help us rewire those connections to one another.