Think Fast Talk Smart: Communication Techniques

Confidence, clarity, and speaking when it matters.
Confident communication isn’t about being the loudest in the room. For Susie Wolff, it’s about displaying assurance before you even open your mouth.
Wolff is a former professional race car driver, managing director of F1 Academy, and author of Driven. Throughout her career in one of the world's most male-dominated industries, she’s learned that confidence starts within. “If you want others to believe in you, you need to at least have confidence in your own abilities,” she says. By letting her capabilities speak for themselves, Wolff felt she didn’t have to. “I was never the loudest voice in the room. But I made sure when I did speak that I really had something to say.”
In this special episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, co-hosted by Matt Abrahams and Tiggy Valen, Wolff shares how inner drive creates outer clarity. From delivering hard truths with empathy to achieving buy-in for a bold vision, Wolff offers lessons on communicating with confidence, even in the face of stiff competition.

Episode Reference Links:
Connect:

Chapters:

  • (00:00) - Introduction
  • (02:48) - Early Motorsport Passion
  • (03:43) - Finding Your Voice
  • (05:15) - Building Confidence
  • (06:10) - Becoming a Leader
  • (08:30) - Cross-Cultural Communication
  • (09:39) - Building F1 Academy
  • (14:02) - Giving Tough Feedback
  • (17:14) - Embracing Discomfort
  • (19:43) - The Final Three Questions
  • (26:34) - 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
Susie Wolff
Former Professional Racing Driver | F1 Academy Managing Director

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: Drive and clarity can
really help you land your communication.

I'm Matt Abrahams and I teach
Strategic Communication at Stanford

Graduate School of Business.

Welcome to Think Fast
Talk Smart, the podcast.

Today I look forward to
speaking with Susie Wolff.

Susie is a highly respected former
professional race car driver.

Susie now serves as the managing
director of F1 Academy, an all female

racing series dedicated to developing
the next generation of female talent.

Her new book is
appropriately called Driven.

Unlike most of our episodes
where I interview our guest

solo, today I am really excited
to be joined by Tiggy Valen.

Tiggy is an F1 enthusiast who hosts
the Paddock Project, which brings a

fresh female perspective to Formula 1.

Tiggy, and I got to know each
other at Stanford GSB, where Tiggy

was one of my former students.

Well, welcome Tiggy.

Thank you for helping me today.

Tiggy Valen: I'm so excited to be here.

Matt Abrahams: Thank
you, and welcome, Susie.

We are both super excited
for our conversation.

Susie Wolff: I'm equally excited.

Thank you for having me.

Matt Abrahams: Excellent.

Shall we get started?

Susie Wolff: Let's go for it.

Matt Abrahams: To begin, I'd love to know,
and I'm sure our listeners would, where

did your interest in motorsport come from?

Susie Wolff: Well, I think you could
say it was in my blood because my

mom met my dad when she went to buy
her first motorbike from his shop.

I had a little motorbike
from the age of 2.

I got a go-kart for my eighth birthday
and I was always that very competitive

little girl that hated losing.

I had a real love of speeds and
looking back, I was really lucky

that I had an older brother who
was only 18 months older than me.

And my parents never really
differentiated between son and

daughter, so I never once felt I was
doing anything unusual for a girl.

And of course in my sport, we all wear a
helmet when we're racing, so the gender

or the driver isn't always visible.

So it set me off on a path.

And at the age of 8, 9, 10, you're
not thinking about the future,

you're not thinking about career.

You're simply doing what you love
in the moment and how grateful

I am that I found that thing I
love doing at such a young age.

Tiggy Valen: It's incredible.

Yeah, it sounds like it's
been your entire life.

I do wanna fast forward several
years though, because I think when

you joined Mercedes for your DTM
test, and I'm sure in many rooms that

you've walked into since, you have
been the only woman amongst many men.

And so I guess I'm curious what
advice you have for someone who may

be underrepresented for some reason,
age, gender, race, whatever it may

be, trying to assert their voice and
their expertise in a room where their

contributions are perhaps doubted
or not respected as much as others.

Susie Wolff: I think it was over time that
I realized, because I was very often the

only woman in a situation, whether that be
the garage or in a meeting room or in the

simulator, and I realized quite early on
that performance is what counts in sports.

And what I love about being in
sport is it's very objective.

It's black and white.

You're either fast or slow.

There's no subjectivity to it.

So, I always knew if I delivered
performance I had to get respect.

And interestingly, when you walk
into a room, you can quite often

feel, it's not blatant skepticism,
but you have an undercurrent of

whether I'm taken seriously in this
setting or, okay, I've got my work

to do to win these people over.

And I quite often was never
the loudest voice in the room.

Never the one that spoke the most often.

But I made sure when I did speak
that I really had something to say.

And I knew I also had to believe in myself
in many situations because if you want

others to believe in you, you need to give
off those vibes that you at least have

confidence in your own abilities before
you can expect others to believe in you.

Matt Abrahams: So being aware of the
room as you walk into it and then

being judicious in what you say.

The confidence in ourselves is
really critical, and a lot of people

might not have that confidence.

I'm curious, were there some things
you did to help remind you that

you belong in those rooms and
your voice really does matter?

How did you build some of that confidence?

Because I think it's critical
in all communication.

Susie Wolff: I'm really lucky that
I'm the character that if someone

tells me I can't, it makes me even
more determined to show them I can.

And I'm really thankful for that
character trait because there have

been so many times throughout my career
that there were so many doubters,

but that lights a fire inside of me
and it makes me even more determined.

But in a way, there's no bitterness
or regret if I don't manage, it's

more the biggest battle is with me.

I want to achieve, I want to be
the best racing driver I can be.

I want to be the best leader I can be,
so I hold myself to high standards.

Matt Abrahams: It's really that
self-motivation and having a clear purpose

and goal that really, I'm hearing, is what
drives some of that confidence in you.

You successfully transitioned from the
driver's seat to become a team principal

and eventually CEO of Venturi Racing.

You said that when you were a
driver, you focused entirely on

yourself, but as a leader you had to
focus on the group, the collective.

Many folks listening in are in
positions of transitioning from

individual contributors to being
team leads, managers, and what

advice and guidance do you have for
helping people make that transition?

What were some of the skills you had to
develop as you moved from focusing on

your own contribution to the broader team?

Susie Wolff: It's a really good question,
and it was definitely a transition.

When you're a sports
person, you're so selfish.

It's all about you because it
all lands on your shoulders.

In a sport like racing, Formula 1,
it really is a collective effort

because no matter how good you are
as a driver, if your car isn't quick

enough, you're not going to win a race.

So I think being in that environment,
you learn quite early on, okay,

I need the people around me.

So you need to bring people
on the journey with you.

They need to live through the successes,
but also the failures, so that camaraderie

is instilled in you from a very young age
because you wanna get to the best team,

you wanna have the best people around
you, and ultimately, I learned quite early

on surround yourself with great people.

When I moved and transitioned into leading
a Formula team, I looked at my whole

network that I'd met over the many years
and immediately looked, okay, who do I

want to surround myself with, who are
best in class in each of their areas?

And in our sports, quite often the
quickest way to gain performance is

simply to poach someone from another
team that's performing because

they bring all their know-how.

Surround yourself with great
people and set realistic goals.

You know, you need to be quite honest
in your beliefs of what you can achieve.

Because if I'd gone to those people
I was trying to hire and say, listen,

we can be world champions in 2 years,
they would've laughed in my face.

We didn't have the organization,
the know how, the investment in

the background ,to turn it around
quickly, but I very much said to them,

listen, I know what I need to do.

Come on this journey with me.

I manage their expectations, but I very
much made them come and feel part of the

transformation and part of the journey.

Tiggy Valen: That old adage sounds so true
of it takes a village and it's equally

important in the successes, but also the
failures, and maybe even more so in the

failures because you do have to have a
little bit more persuasion, convincing,

honesty to get the right people on board.

But hopefully it's a self-fulfilling
prophecy where you get the people

who believe in the mission and you
can work towards success together.

One thing I love about Formula 1, F1
Academy, is that you all operate across

dozens of countries and cultures, which
means you're constantly working with

people who have very different styles
of communication, cultural expectations.

I'm curious how that
experience has been for you.

Susie Wolff: I definitely had to
navigate that, but I also realized

it does come down to the individuals,
not just certain cultures, but the

individuals within that culture, and you
start to learn through your key people,

okay, how do they like to communicate?

Do they need me to ask them how their
family is before we get down to business

or can we get straight into business?

And I think you learn how
certain characters are and then

you navigate your way through.

But my preferred line of communication
is always get to it, be efficient,

and let's not waste any time.

Matt Abrahams: Being cognizant of what
works for you, I think is the starting

point for communicating with others.

And then the second thing I heard you
say, which is really important, is

be open to input and insight into how
others like to be communicated and then

make adjustments if it makes sense.

As managing director of the F1
Academy, you were tasked with

creating a competitive pathway
for young female drivers.

A lot of what we talk about on the
show is persuasion and influence.

When you were building this movement and
generating a call to action, that was a

long-term vision, how do you get people
to join you, especially when they're

traditionally focused on the here and
now, the immediate short-term results.

How did you manage to get people
to buy into your long-term vision?

Susie Wolff: Well, I was really lucky
that I was in an industry which realized

that the climate was changing, in a way.

We as F1, have 42% of the global
fan base now being female.

So, I only really took this role at
F1 Academy because I knew this was our

chance, and I wasn't even sure if we
would ever see this chance in my lifetime,

but I think that the sport changed.

There was a massive investment in women's
sport at the time, and I think those

elements really made me believe, okay, the
timing is right for something to shift.

But when I arrived F1 Academy and had
been set up to be something much smaller,

and of course I came in with this
huge vision, we're gonna race with F1.

We're gonna centralize all the
commercial assets in-house.

I'm gonna get the F1 teams on board.

But I was at the beginning just taking
my time to build a very clear strategy.

I'm someone that doesn't try
to run before I can walk.

So I said to Stefano, the CEO of Formula
1, I need 6 weeks to really figure out

this plan, and then I'll come to you and
I'll show you what I think we need to do.

And I really took my time then to really
speak to the best in the business,

the people whose opinions I rated.

What do you think we can do?

What's been done in the
past that hasn't worked?

So I got as much intel from as many
different people within the sport,

different perspectives from mine,
and some were not nice to hear.

Women will never make it to Formula
1, you're wasting your time.

But I had to hear those inputs.

I had to know why they
didn't think it was possible.

'Cause that was just as important
for me then those who said, it's

absolutely important on the sport.

This is what we need to do.

This is going to get more female talent.

And then it was about building a team.

But the initial months were,
I like to say firefighting.

We were trying to come up with
solutions to scenarios that had

never come up in the sport before.

You know, in the F1 teams, they've never
given their name and liveries to anything

outside of the cars they've built.

And suddenly there was little me
asking them, I want you to do it for

a female racing driver in F1 Academy.

But I think when they understood why this
could have a positive impact in the sport,

how it could generate return on investment
for them, they could see the reasons why.

And then I turned around and said, and
I'm not going to oblige you to stay.

If you give me your trust, I'll
prove to you that this can work.

And if it doesn't, you can
walk away at any moment.

I won't oblige you and you shouldn't look
at us and feel like it's a charity case.

And then slowly but surely, we managed
to build a platform, which really showed

that it had its place in this sport,
that created value, that had a financial

sustainability as a backbone, and I
think that's what allowed me over then

2 or 3 seasons to build that credibility
and to show people that, well, F1

Academy can be positively impactful.

Matt Abrahams: You started, it
sounds like, by really understanding

the opportunity, having done some
research into what made sense.

It didn't hurt that there were
some things going on in the broader

change in how people approach
sport, especially around women.

And then you set up a strategy,
you set time to really think

about it strategically.

And what really resonated with me is you
took time to talk to people, not just

people who had similar ideas and opinions,
but people who had very disparate opinions

and that helped you form the plan.

And through that you were able to put
together a very persuasive message.

And I love also that you had metrics.

You said, here's what success is gonna
look like and hold me to the success.

And congratulations, by the way, on
the success that you've had with that.

There are a lot of lessons
in there for anybody who's

trying to implement something.

Have a vision, make sure it's grounded
in reality, come up with a plan

that's informed by not just people
who support what you're saying, and

derive metrics and commit to those
metrics, and from there, move forward.

In leadership, in any situation,
but especially in elite sport, you

often are put in a situation where
you have to deliver hard truths.

Maybe a driver isn't performing well,
a sponsor isn't properly aligned.

How do you prepare yourself for those
conversations and what advice do you have

for delivering constructive feedback?

My sense is something, part of
it is being very direct, but I'm

curious the other pieces for you.

Susie Wolff: Well, my
husband calls it tough.

Love that feedback on where you need
to improve, what you can do better,

and I won't lie, it hurts a little bit.

I do like and appreciate also the
areas and the weaknesses that, that

he pulls up, the criticisms, because
as much as it stings in that first

moment, it helps you be better.

And I'm a big believer in getting
comfortable in the uncomfortable.

Put yourself in those situations where
you are under pressure or you are getting

feedback that isn't what you want to hear.

And don't get too overly
emotional about it.

Try and take a step back and
say, okay, why have they formed

that opinion that I could do that
better or that isn't good enough?

And how can I actually make
sure that I do do it better?

Or it can be seen in a different light.

And there are sometimes instances
where I say, well, I disagree

because this is why I do it and this
is why it's turned out this way.

But I do think in those moments you
have to just take the initial sting

that is criticism, but then see it
for the positive because it does

help you improve in the long term.

But I also, when I'm delivering
criticism to my team or sometimes to

the drivers, I do always try and put
myself in the other person's shoes

so I could see their perspective.

And that's one of the
things I love about my role.

I've been on the journey that
these young women have been on.

I know how tough it is and I know how
much they sacrifice to try and make it

as a driver and not all of them will.

And there's certain times where it
does break my heart when I have to

tell a driver, well you're out 'cause
the performance wasn't there, because

I've had someone tell that to me.

And I know how tough it can be,
but I think the one thing I've

definitely learned is don't
shy away from confrontation.

Don't shy away from the
difficult discussions.

Don't try and get other people to
do them for you because you need

to have the difficult discussions.

And as long as you can do it in a human
way, which has a bit of empathy built

in, you need to deliver the hard truth.

And quite often, those hard truths
are the moments in your life where you

either have to dig deeper and come back
stronger or slightly change your pathway.

You mentioned the word failure.

I had so many more failures in my life
than I did successes, so many more.

But it was in those moments of
failure where I had to decide,

okay, am I coming back from this
or am I taking a different route?

And it's in those moments that I think
you really have to stay true to yourself.

Have you got it in you to keep going
or are you going to pick another path?

Tiggy Valen: I love that.

I'm hearing two things.

One, to be able to deliver hard
feedback, you first have to be

comfortable with receiving it yourself.

You have to get over the initial
sting of it and take that and

say, this is a defining moment of
whether I become something better

or something different, or I don't.

And then second is that empathy piece.

So when you are delivering hard feedback,
you really have to think about who

you're delivering that message to
and make sure that you're thinking

through what it's like in their shoes.

I wanna go back to one of the things
you said, Susie, because you mentioned

you learned to become comfortable
in the, with the uncomfortable.

And first of all, congratulations
on your book because in the letter

to your younger self at the end of
Driven, you mentioned that, and I would

love to dig into that a little more.

When you speak to whether it's young
women today, your drivers or whoever

else, how would you instruct them
to embrace that discomfort and also

communicate their value and kind of sit
with that and make something out of it?

Susie Wolff: I think that getting
comfortable and the uncomfortable is

also closely linked to resilience.

When you're really put on the
spot where you're under pressure,

where you're uncomfortable.

That is where you need to find that
inner strength within you to say,

okay, I can overcome this, or I can
prepare myself in such a way that

I have the tools to overcome this.

And in high pressure environments, which
was a lot of my career and even to this

day, I always say to myself, the best I
can do is be the best version of myself,

and if that's good enough to succeed I
can be really proud, if it's not good

enough, well, I gave it my best shot,
and I'm okay with not succeeding, with

failing, but it's putting yourself in
the best possible position for success.

So even when it gets uncomfortable,
what are you doing to try

and make it then comfortable?

What are you doing to put yourself
in a position where you can get

yourself back into a comfort zone?

How are you learning new things?

And those are the moments where I
think you grow the most as a person.

And I remember when I took the role
in the Formula E team, there was

a couple of moments in the first
six weeks where I thought, what

have I caught myself into here?

This is so much, and I don't have
the tools to manage all of this.

The same thing with F1 Academy.

I remember one of the first race
weekend, my phone was blowing up from

the team principles in F1 for everyone
telling me what's wrong, what needs

to be better, why it's not good, and
I said, God, there's so much to do.

But then again, that little person in
me that loves the challenge, that has

the resilience kicked in and said, okay.

Let's work through this step by step.

We are gonna manage this.

Let's break it down.

What can we do as small steps that
will then, you know, look like

bigger steps in the mid to long term?

So I think it really is that preparation
of putting yourself in the best position

to succeed in any given moments, no
matter how uncomfortable you are, and then

not allowing yourself to be overwhelmed
by just how big the challenge is.

Matt Abrahams: Really that approach
of gonna give it my best, and

even if it doesn't go the way I
want, knowing that I give it my

best is something I can live with.

And then breaking it down into the pieces.

So while it might be very uncomfortable
and overwhelming, there is a path

forward, and I appreciate that.

Susie, before we end, as you know,
I like to ask three questions.

One I'm gonna make up just for you, and
then the other two I've been asking people

as long as we've been doing the show.

Are you up for that?

Susie Wolff: I'm up for it,
you're gonna put me on the spot.

Matt Abrahams: So one of the things
I really enjoyed about your book

was how honest and open you were.

You demonstrated a lot of vulnerability.

I'm curious to get your thoughts on the
role vulnerability plays in leadership.

Is it important for leaders to be
vulnerable, to share failures and

negative thoughts that they've had?

Is that an important piece
to being an effective leader?

Susie Wolff: For me it is because I
think especially in the role that I am

in where I'm having a lot of interactions
with the next generation and I'm

trying to inspire them, I'm trying to
create a new pathway within what is

the very male dominated environment,
I want them to learn from my mistakes.

I want them to realize how tough my
journey was so that their journey might

be a little bit less tough than mine was.

And of course, my husband
works in the same industry.

And he's someone that when they
were dominant in Formula 1 had huge

visibility and he chose to take that
moment when he had a very powerful voice

to say, well, I also have struggles,
you know, with my own mental health.

And he felt it was important to
humanize because quite often people

look from a distance and they think
we are having this incredible life.

And don't get me wrong, there's so many
things I'm very grateful for in my life.

But in the book, it was important
for me to show that it hasn't

all been a bed of roses.

There's been so many tough moments
in the journey and I hope a lot of

women will resonate and men with
tough moments in their journey and

how you have to pick yourself back up.

But we all have our own struggles
and I think my style of leadership is

certainly to be quite open in those
moments so that people can resonate.

And I think that honesty shows people
that you're also being authentic.

Matt Abrahams: There certainly is an
authenticity to that, and thank you for

sharing your perspective and bringing
in the issue with your husband as well.

Question number two, who is a
communicator that you admire and why?

Susie Wolff: Well, I've mentioned his name
quite often, but definitely my husband.

I remember at the very beginning
when we came together and he

said, let's not play the games.

I'm going to call you when
I have time to call you.

I'm gonna text when I have time, and
if I don't, it's simply because I

don't have time in that given working
day, but I'm not going to play games.

And that clarity and openness at
the very beginning, it set the

tone for our whole relationship.

And he's someone that says, okay,
we're not going to go to sleep

if we've had a disagreement or
we're angry with each other, and

he's very good at communicating.

He's very good at taking the time to sit
and be in the moment and to really listen.

Phones away, not that distraction
of feeling you're talking to someone

who's got 10 other things going on.

And I do think it's one of the things
in our marriage, which is such a

strength at the core, that we are
very open and honest with each other.

We just communicate really well,
and I definitely learned so much

in how to be a better communicator.

Matt Abrahams: That directness and that
focus make a lot of sense for all of

us, and thanks for giving us a little
insight into that relationship you have.

Final question.

What are the first three ingredients that
go into a successful communication recipe?

Susie Wolff: Well, I think I've
mentioned them a lot already.

I think the first one for
me is the authenticity.

Be who you are.

Don't try and be something you
think you need to be or what you

think others expect you to be.

You are you, and the easiest
thing you can be is you.

And for me, it's also the honesty,
that honesty in communicating,

but also putting your hand up when
you've made a mistake or where you

think you could do something better.

And the last one for me is something
that I've really realized moving into the

business side of the sport's is clarity.

So much words get spoken,
meetings get done, and you

actually can narrow it all down.

I always say to my team,
well, give me clarity.

What do you actually mean?

What do we want to take from this meeting?

What are the steps forward?

Because sometimes there's just so much
talking, so many meetings, and we need to

be really focused and just with clarity,
communicate with each other, and it

just makes it so much more efficient.

Matt Abrahams: Well, you were certainly
clear in the three that you gave us,

authenticity, honesty, and clarity.

Susie, this has been
a lovely conversation.

So many valuable insights that we can all
take for our personal lives, and it's just

fascinating to, your life is fascinating
and thank you for sharing that.

Tiggy, thank you so much
for joining and helping.

I know you are passionate about
the sport and I appreciate the work

you do to help bring light to it.

And congratulations on the book, Susie.

Driven is a very personal and yet
very insightful book on many levels.

Thank you and all the best.

Susie Wolff: Thank you both so much.

Tiggy Valen: Thank you.

Matt Abrahams: Thank you for
joining us for another episode of

Think Fast Talk Smart, the podcast.

To learn more about empowering
women in sport, please listen to

episode 235 with Chiney Ogwumike.

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

Our music is from Floyd Wonder.

With special thanks to the
Podium Podcast Company.

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