Think Fast Talk Smart: Communication Techniques

Transform how you communicate with tools that make your message stick.

Great communication isn’t just about what you say — it’s about what your audience remembers. That’s why Jim Szafranski, CEO of Prezi, believes that visuals and storytelling are key to making ideas stick.
For more than 15 years, Prezi has been reimagining the way we share information, helping communicators move beyond static slides and into dynamic, memorable experiences. In the first episode of the Think Fast, Talk Smart Tech Tools miniseries, host Matt Abrahams talks with Szafranski about why visuals are so powerful for retention, how non-linear storytelling can make presentations more engaging, and the role AI now plays in shaping the stories we tell.
In addition to insight-packed discussions, this miniseries explores innovative tools that enhance the way we communicate and connect. Whether you want to make your presentations more memorable, craft stories that stick, or connect with your audience on a deeper level, these episodes will help you communicate with greater clarity, confidence, and impact.

Episode Reference Links:

Connect:

Chapters:

  • (00:00) - Introduction
  • (01:18) - Prezi Elevator Structure
  • (02:09) - The Power of Visuals in Storytelling
  • (04:12) - Making Complex Ideas Simple
  • (06:22) - When to Use Visuals
  • (09:01) - Advantages of Non-Linear Storytelling
  • (11:26) - AI’s Role in Visual Communication
  • (14:22) - Favorite Communicator
  • (15:37) - Communication Hack or Tool
  • (17:28) - Conclusion

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Creators and Guests

Host
Matt Abrahams
Lecturer Stanford University Graduate School of Business | Think Fast Talk Smart podcast host
Guest
Jim Szafranski
CEO of Prezi

What is Think Fast Talk Smart: Communication Techniques?

One of the most essential ingredients to success in business and life is effective communication.

Join Matt Abrahams, best-selling author and Strategic Communication lecturer at Stanford Graduate School of Business, as he interviews experts to provide actionable insights that help you communicate with clarity, confidence, and impact. From handling impromptu questions to crafting compelling messages, Matt explores practical strategies for real-world communication challenges.

Whether you’re navigating a high-stakes presentation, perfecting your email tone, or speaking off the cuff, Think Fast, Talk Smart equips you with the tools, techniques, and best practices to express yourself effectively in any situation. Enhance your communication skills to elevate your career and build stronger professional relationships.

Tune in every Tuesday for new episodes. Subscribe now to unlock your potential as a thoughtful, impactful communicator. Learn more and sign up for our eNewsletter at fastersmarter.io.

Matt Abrahams: This Tech Tools miniseries
is brought to you by Prezi, the

presentation tool that makes your ideas
easy to follow, hard to forget, and

faster than ever to create with Prezi AI.

The best investment is in
the tools of one's own trade.

At Think Fast Talk Smart, we are
taking this quote by Benjamin

Franklin, the famous US inventor
and founding father very seriously.

As you know, our show strives to share
tips and techniques to help you hone and

improve your communication and careers.

These practices and approaches can be
augmented with tools and technology.

I'm Matt Abrahams.

I teach strategic communication at
Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Welcome to this Tech Tools miniseries
of Think Fast Talk Smart, the podcast.

In this multi-part mini series, we'll
introduce you to tools we use at Think

Fast Talk Smart to help us be better at
our spoken and written communication.

And you'll learn best practices
from the founders who created them.

Taken together, we hope these
communication tools will help you find

new ways to think fast and talk smart.

I'm really excited today to speak with
Jim Szafranski, who is Prezi's CEO.

Jim, welcome.

Thanks for joining me.

Jim Szafranski: Yeah, it's my pleasure.

Matt Abrahams: Excellent.

Shall we get started?

Jim Szafranski: Yeah, let's do it.

Matt Abrahams: Okay.

Well, I have been a long time Prezi user.

Some of our listeners might
not quite know what Prezi is.

Can you share what your product is
using the elevator structure I teach

my MBA students, what if you could, so
that, for example, and that's not all?

Jim Szafranski: Yeah.

Let me give it a go.

So what if you could easily create
engaging presentations so that your

target audience not only appreciates your
presentation, but they act on your idea.

Or easily retain and recall the knowledge
you shared in your presentation.

For example, if you're in a pitch
competition, while many of the ideas

were high quality, your presentation
is the one that the panelists remember

best and reward, and that's not all,
given how Prezi's format is highly

visual, it brings out the best in your
creativity and can actually be fun to use.

Matt Abrahams: Well, you get an A plus
for using the structure and it's really

clear that what Prezi helps with because
it's so engaging and stimulating that

people remember it and it stands out.

And for certain in communication,
anything that helps you stand out

and reinforces the story and messages
you tell will be really helpful.

So thank you for that.

I know that storytelling is
something that's very important to

effective communication in general,
but it's important to you as well.

You've explored the importance of visuals
in storytelling and supporting narratives.

What are a few of your top
insights or best practices when

using visuals in storytelling?

Jim Szafranski: Yeah.

We've been at this for over
fifteen years here at Prezi.

Certainly have a few
insights and best practices.

Let me start with this idea of retention.

It's probably the case that if
you're putting in the effort to tell

someone a story that you're hoping
they remember your key points.

And the insight that I would offer is that
people remember and retain information

very well when presented spatially.

And this idea dates back to like five
hundred BC and it's often referred

to as a memory palace, or more
scientifically the method of Loki.

The way it works is imagine that
you're trying to memorize, let's

say the US presidents in order.

It's a classic test, you know, for
middle school students in America.

You visualize walking into a
house, let's say, and in the

entryway is George Washington, the
first US president greeting you.

And then maybe down the hall
sitting on a chair is John

Adams, the second US president.

And then beyond that hall, as you
walk into the living room is Thomas

Jefferson, the third US President.

And you could draw this out and then, you
know, during your recall, you visually

just go through that house that you built.

And without getting into too many
specifics of how Prezi works, this is

one of the foundations of what we have
learned is a good visual presentation.

It lays out information along some
story arc that often creates a

vision in people's minds, and it
dramatically increases retention.

Matt Abrahams: I think that is
such a powerful memory tool.

I use it all the time for my talks.

Human beings are designed to
be good at knowing location.

It's evolutionarily advantageous for us.

And anytime you can tap into
that geolocation ability we

have, it can really help.

And Prezi does lay things out in a
visual sense, in a way that helps.

When I give big talks, I will
always place the introduction in the

entryway to my house, and then the
first point is in the first bedroom.

And because I know that space, I
just see myself walking through

the space to make sure I remember
the content I want to deliver.

And while it helps me to remember, the
visual elements of your tool really

can help people remember as well.

So for anybody listening, thinking about
visual elements to help you remember, but

also to make it easier for your audience
to remember can be really important.

Are there other best practices that you
guys have identified over the years?

Jim Szafranski: Yeah, I can certainly
share at least one more here.

And I think another one around, again,
if you're telling a story, you're trying

to help people understand, probably,
your point, not just retain it.

And what we've done a lot over the
years is worked on actually some

pretty polar opposite use cases.

Sometimes helping people sell, let's
say, very complex products, sometimes

sell commodity products like insurance.

But if we focus on the complex example,
the insight that I would offer is that

the use of visuals, in particular,
something, say metaphorical can

really help reduce complexity, right?

And increase understanding.

So what we see in many good
presentations are images like let's

say an iceberg, where you focus
on the thing above the water, but

there's danger lurking below, right?

The roots of a tree, which while
not dangerous, the unseen part

under the tree is really important
to how the organism functions.

And these are all kind of
storytelling techniques that can help.

Let's say it's a complex example,
even consulting engagement, and

you have a skeptical client.

It can help them maybe understand
and appreciate that there's a lot

more to this project or to the idea
then they were thinking and that,

you know, you could be very helpful.

Matt Abrahams: It is really important
when dealing with complexity, not to

dumb things down and oversimplify,
but to make them accessible.

And using a comparison, a metaphor,
that's visual in particular, can

be really helpful so that we not
only see it, but we understand it.

And this notion of accessibility, when
paired with the value of visuals for

memory, really can make you stand out
and make the content more engaging.

So I appreciate that.

Now, not every point made
needs to have a visual.

When should someone use visuals and when
should they refrain from using them?

Jim Szafranski: Yeah.

It might be surprising to hear, but I
personally don't use a lot of visuals in

my presentations and certainly no stock
or clip a just to fill space, right?

What drives my style and a lot of what
we try to do with our customers here

at Prezi is based on the understanding
that the same part of the brain is

generally used for visual and audio tasks.

So we aren't actually good at reading
and listening at the same time.

So if you wanna talk,
put a visual instead.

Maybe that just shows the simple
relationship between the points, if

you're doing like a cause effect or
a goal challenge, next step list.

And so I would use that a lot to
guide, you know, when do you use a

visual and when do you maybe not, is
basically which part of the person's

brain are you trying to engage.

And I think this is, even without
a physical presentation, you

can think about this, right?

And how to engage, you know, get
someone painting a picture in their

mind while you're telling a story.

You could say, imagine you are in a
cockpit of an airplane ready for takeoff.

You've already got the
person then in that space.

So if I could give a rule of thumb, I
would focus visuals for the main story arc

for key relationships between important
information or to simplify complex topics.

But then don't clutter the rest of
your content that you're sharing.

Matt Abrahams: So just reinforcing that
the visuals aren't needed for everything.

Sometimes people carry around
this notion that I have to have

a visual for every point I make,
and certainly that's not the case.

And I really like your idea of using
visuals for what they're really good at,

which is helping people to understand,
helping them to engage and thinking

about the impact that the visuals have.

You know, human beings are wired
for visual and let's not overwhelm

people with too much information.

I think that's really valuable.

And I challenge everybody to remember that
slides and visuals are for your audience.

They're not for you.

And so thinking about when to use
them can be really helpful and I

appreciate you sharing that you
don't overload your communication

that way with too many visuals.

I am the same way, so I appreciate that.

One element, Jim of Prezi that I
really like is it's non-linear nature.

You can move all around
the content easily.

It doesn't always have to
go beginning, middle, end.

What advantages and disadvantages
does removing the typical linear

constraint of communication provide
when trying to get information across?

Jim Szafranski: We like to call
our format kind of an open canvas.

Even our technology is more of a
video game camera moving through 3D

space than say traditional slides.

To your question, like the advantages
of being able to go non-linear,

let's say, there are a lot.

I would focus probably on two.

The first is you can really personalize
the flow and the information shared.

Let's say this is a presentation
you're gonna use with twenty different

people, rather than having to
change a presentation every time.

If you don't have the time or the
information on who these people are always

to do that, you can kind of personalize
your way through the presentation.

And even better actually though,
is interactivity with the audience.

A lot of what we do when we try
to go non-linear is you create

curiosity moments on the screen and
someone will say, well, what's that?

Or can I see that?

Now all of a sudden you're interacting
with your audience, with the person

you're presenting to, and it becomes
very conversational, which is, you know,

all of a sudden they're not thinking, I
went to a presentation or I got pitched.

It's more like, oh, I had this really
interesting conversation with Matt.

So those would be some of the advantages.

Matt Abrahams: It's really cool
that going non-linear can actually

build curiosity and it allows you to
tailor the material to the needs and

interests of the audience, which we
certainly know really draws them in.

And it makes the presentation move
from just broadcast to conversation.

So, I think everyone should
take a step back and think about

the flow of your communication.

Clearly you need to have a structure and
a logic behind it, but the ability to

move from place to place to really engage
where the audience is most interested,

that curiosity breeds conversation.

And I like your metaphor
of saying it's a canvas.

I think many of us think of slides
and other visual tools as really

a template, and a template and a
canvas, to me, are very different.

And getting people to think about how
they can communicate visually using that

canvas metaphor, I think really helps.

And it goes back to what
you mentioned earlier.

If you can get people to see it,
not just actually see it, but see

it in their mind's eye, they're
going to retain it even longer.

Now I have to ask you this because AI is
ubiquitous and it certainly has impact in

communication and visual communication,
and I know you're integrating

AI into the tool that you have.

What role does AI play in storytelling
and helping people communicate better?

Jim Szafranski: What I've seen over
the years of storytelling and visual

design can be quite intimidating.

But somewhere along the way we
forget how to be creative sometimes

or how to tell a story, right?

And so I think first up, I think
AI is helping make storytelling and

visual design way more accessible,
right, to many more people.

We like to call, like our AI first
user experience, for instance,

at Prezi a designer by your side.

So we don't think of it as
necessarily getting rid of you as

the storyteller or even necessarily
building the entire narrative for you.

But we're there to help to get
past that intimidation factor.

And you know, so now you can have
a tool that really guides you

in crafting your narrative is
a great thing aI can help with.

Selecting visual imagery, which
is something even I struggle with.

Everyone struggles with, right?

And then populating the content in
ways you just didn't think you could do

or didn't have the time to years ago.

So I think it's revolutionary
on that accessibility front.

Matt Abrahams: Yeah, I certainly agree,
and this is true for me, finding visuals

is really intimidating and stressful.

Can you find the right visual?

Does it capture what you need?

Having a guide or help on the side
I think is really useful and I

encourage my students and others to
use AI to help you brainstorm, to

help you consider different options.

Clearly, your role as the communicator
and the person who will actually

be delivering and connecting with
the audience is really important.

And so as a guide I think is
a great way to look at it.

And we do get intimidated and
we do lock in too quickly.

So having options and having somebody
help us can really make a difference.

So Jim, before we end, I'd like
to ask you two questions and I'm

asking these questions of everyone
who's part of this miniseries.

Are you up for that?

Jim Szafranski: Sure, let's do it.

Matt Abrahams: Alright.

So I'd be very curious to know who is
a communicator that you admire and why?

Jim Szafranski: I really admire and get
inspired by the work of Chip and Dan

Heath, with Chip being a professor at
Stanford for folks that aren't familiar.

And they've written many good books,
and I would recommend all of them,

but in particular on this topic, the
ideas they presented in this book

called Made to Stick, really, you
know, were inspiring for me and has

served me well a lot over the years.

So I think their work, it offers a
super simple framework for sharing

ideas in a way that sticks, right,
and that's the name of the book.

And with a real focus on like trying
to help lead people to action,

they try to really help people
communicate for action, for leadership.

Matt Abrahams: So Made To Stick is
one of my go-to books that I recommend

to everybody for communication.

It wasn't written as a communication
book, but it is a great book.

And I happen to know both Dan
and Chip, and we've interviewed

both of them for the podcast.

And you're right, they're very good
at articulating very clear direction,

practical tactical tips, and they do a
good job, I think, of giving examples.

So you can really understand
through examples, they show

you what they're talking about.

And I can see how that aligns
a lot with the work you do,

which is very much into showing.

So thank you for sharing the Heath
brothers, they do a great job.

So beyond your tool, I'm curious if you
have one particular communication hack or

tool or shortcut that you use to help you
be more effective in your communication?

Jim Szafranski: What I would share
is, you know, I've learned over the

years, to get people to buy in and
understand, they really need to be

able to relate to you and your ideas.

And so it's really important to
help people relate to you and your

idea while you're communicating,
which is where sometimes Slack and

things like that can go astray if you
just get right to the point, right?

So I think that I would encourage, you
know, the hack would be communicate

your experience, communicate your
feelings, even your emotions.

And likely your audience will have then
or has had similar experiences and then

they can kind of place that idea in that
context and understanding so much more.

So, you know, essentially the idea
you're communicating starts becoming

theirs, but the way you get it is not
by bludgeoning them with the idea,

it's by actually relating it to you.

So then they, as humans can relate
to what you're trying to talk about.

Matt Abrahams: So both tailoring your
message to connect to your audience

and then give the information.

And you're right, that does
take a little bit of time, but I

think it is time very well spent.

And it is through that connection, through
that warmth, through that tailoring that

you really can make your message land.

And I like the example you gave of,
show it, you know, tell your experience,

share your emotions, and that's how
you make that connection happen.

Jim, this has been really
insightful and useful.

It is all about showing and
connecting, and your work does that.

Your tool helps.

It makes things accessible, it makes
things memorable, and those are things

that all of us can leverage to be
better, more effective communicators.

Thank you for your time.

Jim Szafranski: Yeah,
thanks for having me.

It's been fun.

Matt Abrahams: Thank you for
joining us for one of our

Communication Tools episodes of
Think Fast Talk Smart, the podcast.

Please be sure to listen to all of
the episodes in this miniseries.

We appreciate Prezi's
sponsorship of these episodes.

This episode was produced by Katherine
Reed, Ryan Campos, and me, Matt Abrahams.

Our music is from Floyd Wonder.

With special thanks to
Podium Podcast Company.

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