218. Teaching Truths & Tactics: Live Lessons From Stanford in Cape Town

Think Fast Talk Smart: Communication Techniques

Think Fast Talk Smart

Communicating, Influence, Career Skills, Career, Business, Education, Leadership, Careers, Communication, Career Growth, Public Speaking, Language Learning, Improv

4.7 • 711 Ratings

🗓️ 24 July 2025

⏱️ 35 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Real connection means understanding your audience, staying true to yourself, and creating space for others.

How do you communicate who you are, what you stand for, and leave space for others to do the same? At the Stanford Seed Summit in Cape Town, South Africa, three GSB professors explored why real connection is built through authentic communication.

For Jesper Sørensen, authentic organizational communication means talking about a business in ways customers or investors can understand, like using analogies to relate a new business model to one that people already know. For incoming GSB Dean Sarah Soule, authentic communication is about truth, not trends. Her research on "corporate confession" shows that companies build trust when they admit their shortcomings — but only if those admissions connect authentically to their core business. And for Christian Wheeler, authentic communication means suspending judgment of ourselves and others. “We have a tendency to rush to categorization, to assume that we understand things before we really do,” he says. “Get used to postponing judgment.”

In this special live episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, host Matt Abrahams and his panel of guests explore communication challenges for budding entrepreneurs. From the risks of comparing yourself to competitors to how your phone might undermine genuine connection, they reveal how authentic communication — whether organizational or personal — requires understanding your audience, staying true to your values, and creating space for others to be heard.

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Chapters:

(00:00) - Introduction
(01:21) - Jesper Sørensen on Strategic Analogies
(04:23) - Sarah Soule on Corporate Confessions
(09:03) - Christian Wheeler on Spontaneity & Presence
(12:23) - Panel Discussion: AI’s Role in Research, Teaching, & Life
(18:09) - Professors Share Current Projects
(23:12) - Live Audience Q&A
(33:10) - Conclusion

*****
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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, Matt here. Do you want to learn how to present better in groups?
0:05.1	Then you should check out our July newsletter. Go to our LinkedIn page or you can sign up for our newsletter at faster smarter.io resources.
0:15.7	Check it out. You'll be glad you did.
0:21.8	You can catalyze community through compelling communication.
0:26.2	My name is Matt Abraham's, and I teach strategic communication at Stanford Graduate School of
0:31.3	Business.
0:32.1	Welcome to this live episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, the podcast.
0:37.3	The power of community to enhance learning,
0:39.8	entrepreneurship, and connection is truly amazing. I witnessed this firsthand at the recent
0:45.1	Stanford Seed Summit in Cape Town, South Africa. I invite you to listen in as Stanford
0:50.5	Professors Jesper Sorensen, Christian Wheeler, and incoming GSB Dean Sarah Sewell,
0:56.5	share their thoughts with and answer questions from the close to 500 seed members in our audience.
1:03.7	So let's get started. Yesfer, thank you for joining us.
1:06.2	Excited to have you. When you and I spoke earlier on the podcast, we talked about strategy and telling
1:12.6	stories around strategy. And I know that you've done some recent work that continues that
1:18.0	line, where you've done research with your colleague, Glenn Carroll, on the use of analogies
1:23.8	in being effective in the work that you do. Can you share a little bit more about that?
1:29.8	This episode was brought to you by Stanford University. Over the years, we've shared advice
1:34.5	from my Stanford colleagues on how to be more confident and compelling in your communication.
1:39.4	You might remember Kelly McGonigal sharing ways to harness your anxiety to help you feel empowered.
1:45.4	Stanford faculty contributes to the world in many other ways. I was really impressed by
1:50.4	Stanford Medicine's Michelle Mongey and Crystal Mekyll, who led a clinical trial that could
	...

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