Matt Abrahams - Think of Your Audience as the North Star of Communication

Stanford Business School Lecturer, author and host of the popular podcast Think Fast/Talk Smart joined us for an inspired and inspiring hour on overcoming public speech anxiety and communicating effectively. Matt spoke of the importance of focusing on value and being conversational as well as having a map and structure. He talked about deep breathing, holding something cold and "greeting anxiety" as well as how his own career began with anxiety over a speech he had to give at the age of fourteen. He touched on the importance of connection and mindset, as well as responding to hecklers, pattern recognition and framing. The conversation moved to the importance of listening well, including, as Matt put it, to what's not being said. Michael brought up being what he called "riff ready" and Matt highlighted the importance of stockpiling stories and anecdotes and building trust and rapport. Matt and Michael were laying out a foundation, a primer for optimal communication and their conversation moved on to the importance of curiosity and the uses of AI. A listener asked about what to say during a job interview and another listener wanted to know how best to use slides for presentations and Matt provided answers as well as focusing on how stress can be of value and the importance and value of paraphrasing and visualization. The dialogue wound up with focus on implications for primary education, Matt's podcast, Think Fast, Talk Smart. Michael brought in the Roman poet Horace, who identified the purposes of literature as teaching and entertaining, and concluded "it's the same for speeches."