Videos

Whether you're looking to boost your productivity, find more joy in your work, or simply be more present in the moment, you need flow — and research by Assistant Professor David Melnikoff (https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/faculty/david-melnikoff) could help you find it. Melnikoff investigates how we pursue our goals, and how flow — the…

Preparing to speak in front of a skeptical audience is more than thinking about objections beforehand – there are specific techniques you can use to respond to these challenging situations without sounding defensive, evasive, or dismissive. Here, we offer a few key tips for how to handle skepticism with aplomb.…

So you want to lead your team toward innovation. Does that require that you know where you’re going? Not according to Linda Hill (https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/profile.aspx?facId=6479) . Hill is a professor of business administration at Harvard Business School whose research focuses on leadership and how organizations achieve innovation. When it comes to…

A special live edition from the Me2We event at Stanford, where strategic communications expert and podcast host Matt Abrahams joins four distinguished faculty members from Stanford Graduate School of Business: • Michelle Gelfand (https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/faculty/michele-j-gelfand) explores the dynamics of cross-cultural organizational behavior. • Brian Lowery (https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/faculty/brian-lowery) discusses the societal implications of…

In choosing who to date, what job to pursue, or how to invest our money, most people are just looking for a reason to move forward. But according to Professor Ilya Strebulaev (https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/faculty/ilya-strebulaev) , we should be looking for something else: a reason to bail. "The smartest venture capitalists ask…

Many of us would rank getting along with colleagues as an important aspect of work, but, as Amy Gallo (https://www.amyegallo.com/) explains, relationships devoid of disagreement can actually be less productive. “While our natural human instinct is to avoid conflict, I believe that conflicts are not only an inevitable part of…

Whether we realize it or not, we negotiate everyday. But when we approach these situations as a win-or-lose battle, we’re already showing resistance, and setting ourselves up for difficulty. But what if you reframed the whole idea, to think of a negotiation not as a fight, but as a problem-solving…

Stress can get in the way of our communication with others. To manage our stress, psychologist Jenny Taitz (https://drjennytaitz.com/) says, we first need to adjust the conversations that we have with ourselves. Taitz is an assistant clinical professor in psychiatry at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the author…

Innovation and disruption aren’t just for organizations. According to Whitney Johnson (https://thedisruptionadvisors.com/whitney-johnson/) , we can find new possibilities for personal and professional growth — by disrupting ourselves. As an executive coach, author, and podcaster, Johnson teaches people how to level up their lives and careers through the power of personal…

In our personal and professional lives, some conversations are harder than others. To navigate the difficulties of discussing what matters most, Professor Irv Grousbeck (https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/faculty/h-irving-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…

“What people regret over time are things they didn’t do. They didn’t take that trip, they didn’t ask that person out on a date. They didn’t start that business,” says former political speechwriter and author Dan Pink (https://www.danpink.com/about/) . “I think it’s because we are slightly over-indexed on risk. We…

Sometimes, what’s communicated to us can have a big impact on how we communicate to others. This episode explores some of the best communication advice — from experts and Think Fast, Talk Smart (https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/business-podcasts/think-fast-talk-smart-podcast) listeners around the world. As teachers of Strategic Communication, lecturers Shawon Jackson (https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/faculty/shawon-jackson) and Matt Abrahams…

Whether winning over a hiring manager or winning new business, career success often hinges on how we communicate. That’s why Andrew Seaman (https://www.andrewseaman.com/) is on a mission to help people find the words that work — to get work. Seaman is the senior managing editor for jobs and career development…

“Anything is fixable,” say Frances Frei (https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/profile.aspx?facId=6587) and Anne Morriss (https://www.linkedin.com/in/anne-morriss/) . As cohosts of the Fixable (https://www.ted.com/podcasts/fixable) podcast, they’re typically the ones doing the fixing, but on this special episode, they turn to Matt Abrahams for tips on what to do when communication breaks down. Both Frei and her…

Tara VanDerveer (https://gostanford.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/season/2022-23/staff/tara-vanderveer) has more wins than any other coach in NCAA basketball history. But as she says, motivating and leading teams isn’t about barking orders. Communication, she says, “It starts, number one, with listening.” For VanDerveer, leadership isn’t about a power dynamic, but a collaboration between her and her…

"In a leadership role, so much more of communication is about connecting with people, establishing shared humanity, motivating them, inspiring them, sometimes challenging them." On August 1, 2024, Jonathan D. Levin (https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/faculty/jonathan-levin) , the tenth dean of Stanford Graduate School of Business, was appointed the President of Stanford University. In…

Navigators know the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. In charting a course through communication, Susan Rice (https://cddrl.fsi.stanford.edu/people/susan-e-rice) says the best route is often the most direct. Throughout her career at the forefront of American diplomacy and foreign policy, Rice has been no stranger to high-stakes situations…

As a designer, Scott Doorley (https://dschool.stanford.edu/team-directory/scott-doorley) is interested in how humans create the world around them. It’s a conversation, he says, that starts with the question: What kind of world do we want? Doorley is the creative director of the Stanford d.school and co-author of the book, Assembling Tomorrow: A…

Artificial intelligence can now do a lot of things. But if you’re worried about it taking your place as a communicator, Russ Altman (https://profiles.stanford.edu/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…

One week left to help us! Think Fast, Talk Smart was nominated for a prestigious Webby award. Please take 2 minutes to vote for our episode with Kim Scott by going to fastersmarter.io/webby. Voting closes on April 18th.

Leveraging slides in a presentation, pitch, or meeting can help your audience better understand and remember your points, but too often our slides distract our audience. Rather than creating useful slides that reveal just what is needed by our audience in the moment, we create a document with too many…

When attempting to change a behavior or attitude, you must consider the action forces that promote and inhibit the change you are pursuing. Most persuasion efforts focus on promoting forces by explaining why you should make the change being suggested: Eat this broccoli because it will make you strong. Invest…

Hybrid meetings and conversations are here to stay. Learn some tips and tricks to make sure everyone involved — bother "roomies" and "zoomies" — feels connected and engaged. Here are some quick suggestions: -Use your meeting invite to remind everyone to include those not physically in their space. -Have the…

Give Good Ground Rules. Like bumper guards placed in the gutters of a bowling lane, you can lead your meetings and interpersonal communications to success. Ground rules help set expectations and guide your audience along. At the beginning or prior to your interactions, establish clear boundaries and expectations. You can…