Think Fast Talk Smart: Communication Techniques

"When there's a gap between our intention and our impact, we diminish others and our communication."
The best leaders don't succeed because they have all the answers—they succeed because they bring out the best thinking in others. Liz Wiseman, executive advisor, CEO of the Wiseman Group, and author of the million-copy bestseller Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter, has spent years studying why some leaders amplify the intelligence around them while others unintentionally hold people back. In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, Wiseman joins Matt Abrahams to explore the habits of multiplier leaders, the subtle ways well-intentioned managers accidentally diminish their teams, and how curiosity, trust, and thoughtful communication create environments where people can do their best work. Together, they share practical strategies for leading with greater impact by aligning your intentions with the experience you create for others.

Key Takeaways:
  • Great leaders multiply, not diminish. Create trust, ask more than you tell, and challenge people to do their best thinking instead of stepping in with the answers.
  • Good intentions aren't enough. The most effective communicators pay attention to the impact of their actions, ensuring their support empowers others rather than unintentionally holding them back.

Activity:
  • Ask the multiplier question. At the end of your next one-on-one or team meeting, ask: "What do you need from me to do your best work?" Listen without jumping in to solve the problem. Focus on understanding what will help others think, contribute, and perform at their highest level.
To listen to the extended Deep Thinks version of this episode, please visit FasterSmarter.io/premium.

Episode Reference Links:
Connect:

 Chapters:

  • (00:00) - Introduction
  • (00:55) - Multipliers vs. Diminishers
  • (02:26) - The Habits That Hold Teams Back
  • (03:54) - Safety, Stretch, & Trust
  • (05:12) - Curiosity Over Control
  • (06:56) - The Most Important Leadership Question
  • (09:14) - Becoming an Impact Player
  • (12:20) - When Good Intentions Backfire
  • (15:54) - Accidental Diminishing
  • (19:47) - The Final Three Questions
  • (25:07) - Conclusion

Creators and Guests

Host
Matt Abrahams
Lecturer Stanford University Graduate School of Business | Think Fast Talk Smart podcast host
Guest
Liz Wiseman
Wiseman Group CEO | Executive Advisor | Researcher | NY Time Bestselling Author

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: When there's a gap
between our intention and our impact, we

diminish others and our communication.

My name's Matt Abrahams, and I
teach Strategic Communication at

Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Welcome to Think Fast,
Talk Smart, the podcast.

Today I am super excited to
chat with my friend Liz Wiseman.

Liz is a researcher, executive
advisor, and CEO of the Wiseman Group.

Liz has written a number of best-selling
books, including Multipliers: How the

Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter,
Impact Players, and Rookie Smarts.

Liz's work has had a profound
impact on leaders around the globe.

Welcome, Liz.

I am so excited to have our conversation,
to take what we talk about when

we walk around that lake and bring
it here so everybody can hear.

Thanks for joining.

Liz Wiseman: Well, it's always a
pleasure, and I love our talks.

Matt Abrahams: Thank you.

Shall we get started?

Liz Wiseman: Let's go.

Matt Abrahams: All right.

For listeners who don't know your
work, what's the core idea behind

being a multiplier or a diminisher,
and how did you stumble onto

these patterns in the first place?

Liz Wiseman: Well, let's start
with how I stumbled onto it.

You know, right out of college, my
first job, I joined Oracle, and I found

myself in this sea of brilliant people.

Everyone was so smart, so amazing,
and I noticed as those people got

put into management roles, a lot of
them were really smart, but no one

else got to be smart around them.

It was almost this, like, exclusive
intelligence that they were, were

quick, they were sharp, they had great
ideas, but other people held back

around them, or other people had to
sort of recede to make room for them

and their intelligence and capability.

I ended up calling these
leaders diminishers.

Matt Abrahams: Okay.

Liz Wiseman: I also noticed other
people who were equally brilliant.

People around them were smart,
capable, sharp, took ownership,

stepped up, had ideas.

Like, somehow their intelligence
was more of a tool than a weapon.

And I watched this dynamic
for years, fascinated.

Like, why is it that some leaders seem
to amplify intelligence while others

are sucking the intelligence and life
and creativity and energy out of a room?

And it wasn't until I left Oracle
and saw this pattern with other

leaders that I decided this
deserved, like, some academic study.

Matt Abrahams: Right, and
you dove right into it.

Help us understand what are some
of the behaviors and cues and clues

that lead to being a diminisher?

Many people do it accidentally.

They don't say, "Today I'm gonna go,
you know, make sure that everybody

pays attention to me," and they don't
get to say that what they wanna say.

What are some of the cues and
clues that we can pay attention to?

Liz Wiseman: One of the clues that I pay
attention to is the talk to listen ratio.

You know, we find that diminishers
tend to be know-it-alls.

They operate in directives.

They're telling people what to do,
whereas the multiplier leaders are

asking people, "What should we do?

What can we do?" Like, "What do
you think is possible?" Diminishers

tend to be, um, a bit of tyrants.

They're creating an environment that is
tense, full of stress, and we know what

happens to people's ability to think
and reason and solve hard problems when

they're experiencing that kind of stress.

Um, whereas multipliers
create an environment that's

not tense, it's intense.

And it's not necessarily a
lackadaisical environment, but it's

not like, "Hey, knock yourself out.

Do whatever you want." It's like,
"I'm gonna give you space to think,

to take risks, to make mistakes.

I'm gonna give you time to
experiment, but in exchange for

that, I expect your best thinking.

I expect your best work.

And, like, I'm gonna give you space,
but don't you dare give me anything

other than your best thinking.

Matt Abrahams: It sounds to me like, uh,
some of this, and, and I know you and I

both know Amy Edmondson, but psychological
safety, setting up an environment where

people can feel safe but challenged to
do their work, is what a multiplier does.

Liz Wiseman: Absolutely.

And at the core of this is trust.

What's at the core of trust
is psychological safety.

And I think what I found with
these multiplier leaders really

gets at the heart of Amy's work.

And one of the things I think if Amy were
here, she would say sometimes her work

is misunderstood, and that people think,
"Oh, psychological safety is like, well,

I can be ragged. I could say anything,
like, 'Ooh, don't infringe on things that

make me stressed.'" And what Amy would
say is that the best leaders create that

kind of safety, but that alone isn't
enough for people to do great work.

They also create stretch.

And I think it's in this combination of
comfort, like, I feel comfortable here.

I belong here, I can be myself here.

But then challenge of like, okay, now
we expect you to do really great work.

Like, it's in this magic of creating
both safety and stretch that people

do great work, and that's really the
environment that great leaders create.

Matt Abrahams: I love this tension, uh,
and focus on stress versus stretch, and

you wanna create the opportunities for
stretch, not necessarily for stress.

It strikes me that tone plays a role here.

Because I was thinking, okay,
what's something I could look in

my own behavior to make sure I'm
multiplying, not diminishing?

And asking questions seems to be
a reasonable thing to look at,

but I can ask a question with a
tone that can be very diminishing.

I can do the right action, ask a
question, but the way in which I do it

can actually be seen as diminishing,
and I find that really interesting.

Have you looked at not just the
verbal actions, the messages, but

how people deliver those messages as,
as helping multiply versus diminish?

Liz Wiseman: We see that,
like, the currency of a

multiplier leader is inquiry.

Maybe what's at the heart
of that is curiosity.

And it's asking people questions, um,
not to placate them, not to humor them.

It's asking because you
want to know what they know.

It's being curious that what you
don't know that somebody else

may know may be more interesting
than what you already know.

And which is what draws you
into the head of other people.

But we all know a question can be used
as a weapon or it can be used as a tool.

You know, we haven't really studied
what that tone is, but I think

it's one that everyone knows.

Like you can tell if someone is
weaponizing a question versus

is it an honest question.

And I think maybe the litmus
test for yourself as a leader

is, why am I asking this?

Am I asking this to show off what I know?

Or to catch someone not knowing, or
am I asking this because I really

want to know what that person
knows, the insight that they bring?

Matt Abrahams: Right.

So a question is a tool to get inside
somebody else's head versus to put

them in a particular position, and I
think that's really helpful for people.

Uh, I love that advice.

Ask yourself why are
you asking the question?

Speaking of questions, if you were
to give advice to a leader, what's

one question that a leader could ask,
say, at the end of a one-on-one or an

all-hands meeting, that could serve
as a multiplier and not a diminisher?

What, what might a question sound like?

Liz Wiseman: If I had one that you might
wanna ask regularly, uh, as a leader is,

"What do you need from me to be able to
do great work?" I think it's easy for

people to get into, like, "Here's what
I want from my leader." But, like, a

leader's job is to create the environment
where people can do great work.

And then have the tone and the posture
of, "We expect you to do great work here."

I think asking, like, "What is it that I
can do that would create the possibility

for you to do your best thinking and your
best work?" is something that I think

a leader should be asking regularly.

I studied multiplier leaders.

I can tell you, "Here's
what on average, they do.

Here's what they tend to do,
but everyone's different.

Everyone brings a
different leadership style.

Everyone on your team
is a little different.

And so I think taking this posture of,
what does this person need from me?

I think when we focus on not what people
want from us as their leaders, but what

they need from us, it puts us in the right
posture to enable people to do great work.

Matt Abrahams: This notion of being
in service of the people you lead and

trying to enable them through providing
them support, really important.

And, and a question that helps get
that across could be very valuable.

Liz Wiseman: I wanna, um, add to that.

There was something that, uh, my
boss at Oracle said, Phil Wilson.

He said something once that
has stuck with me forever.

He said, "Your employees are the
customers of your leadership." I think

it's what allowed me to do this work
was to see that, like, leadership is

truly in the eyes of the beholder.

If you wanna know what good leadership
looks like, you don't ask great

leaders 'cause they may or may not know
what they're doing that's effective.

You ask the people who work for them.

And people need different things
from us at different times.

Matt Abrahams: Envisioning leadership
as serving customers, those that report

to you, is a really interesting frame,
and I, I'm huge on checking the frames

that we use in our communication,
and I really like that one.

I'm gonna add that to my
stockpile of, of frames.

Thank you.

I think taking a customer service
perspective on all of our relationships

can make a big difference.

You know, if I see myself as a
teacher, my students are my customers.

I, I teach them very differently.

I'd approach it very differently than
if, hey, they just show up and I'm

here to bestow knowledge on them.

Uh, it really changes that perspective.

I appreciate that.

You've also studied and written
about impact players at work.

Uh, what is an impact player, and what
do they do differently from others?

Liz Wiseman: Well, impact players
are, like, in short, they're

the difference makers at work.

They're the people who
are doing standout work.

And not only are they the people who
are making plays and making plays

consistently, they're people who make
the entire teams around them better.

They raise the level of play.

They raise the aspiration on the team.

And in short, what we found that
the impact players do differently

than ordinary contributors, like
rock solid performers, what they

do differently is they handle
everyday ambiguity differently.

Matt Abrahams: Oh, interesting.

Tell me more about that.

Liz Wiseman: Yeah, they handle, um,
what have become, I think, the perennial

challenges of the modern workplace,
like messy problems, problems without

clear owners, unclear roles where you
can't quite figure out who's leading

this effort, unforeseen obstacles,
something very inconvenient beyond

your control, changing targets where
the market's changing, preferences are

changing, the environment, policy is
changing, and then unrelenting demands

where the workload is increasing faster
than the resources to do the work.

If you leave one organization
because of all of this inconvenience,

you're gonna find it somewhere else.

And we find that the impact players
approach that everyday ambiguity

really differently than other people.

When the problems are messy,
while other people are doing

their job, they're figuring out
the job that needs to get done.

Matt Abrahams: Oh, I
like that distinction.

Liz Wiseman: When roles are unclear, while
other people are waiting for direction,

they're stepping up and taking charge.

You know, they realize you
don't have to be in charge to

take charge of a situation.

Um, when unforeseen obstacle drops
in your path, while other people are

escalating up to management, they're
moving things across the finish line.

When, um, targets are changing and
other people are avoiding change,

they're adapting, adjusting, pivoting.

And when the workload is heavy
and hard, while other people are

adding to the burden, they're,
they're making work light.

Like, they're the kind of people
who just make hard work easier.

And while other people are seeing
threat in all of that ambiguity and

uncertainty, they're the ones that
are finding the opportunity in it.

This is a mess.

This is an opportunity for
us to do something different.

Matt Abrahams: I hear
several things there.

So one is mindset, drive, uh, as well, and
this notion of tolerance for ambiguity.

You know, when Rob Siegel was here
talking about the needs of, uh, system

leaders, it, it really is the ability to,
you don't have to thrive in ambiguity,

but at least be able to, to manage it.

You work with lots of leaders,
lots of organizations.

If you were to give one bit of advice that
you would like people, leaders, or just

average employees to stop doing in their
behavior or their communication that gets

in the way of all of these things you're
talking about, is there one thing that

you would advise people to stop doing?

Liz Wiseman: Okay, this is a
little conceptual but your intent

is translating to other people.

And, uh, I wanna go back to this idea
about leaders who have a diminishing

effect versus a multiplying effect,
and one of the, there were two things

that were startling in this research.

One was that the diminishing leaders
were getting less than half of people's

available intelligence, their knowledge,
their insights, their creativity.

I witnessed this in the workplace, and
I assumed that these multiplier leaders

were getting more, like, I don't know,
I think 20% was my hypothesis on this.

It's a 2X difference between what these
multiplier leaders are getting and

these diminishing leaders are getting.

But the thing that was even
more surprising is that most

diminishing was accidental.

It wasn't coming from tyrannical,
narcissistic, bully, the

decision-makers, the micromanagers.

A lot of it comes from that, but the
majority is coming from really, really

well-intended leaders who are trying
to be good leaders, trying to do the

right thing, are just brimming with
positive intent, but their impact

is different than their intention.

Coming to, to talk with you today
made me realize that there's a really

important communication angle behind this.

Intent doesn't translate to impact,
particularly when it comes to leaders.

Like, there are so many ways we
accidentally diminish by being like

idea fountains, by being always on,
by being rescuers, protectors, rapid

responders, pacesetters, and they're
all done with really good intent.

But the intention alone
doesn't get the right result.

Like, let me take one of those.

The rescuer.

This is when a leader sees someone
struggling, perhaps in a meeting, and,

like, you see someone struggling with
a hard problem, or they got asked a

difficult question, and your, like,
great big heart kicks in, and you wanna

help that person, and you think you
are sending the message of, "I got you.

I care about you.

I want you to be successful.

I'm here for you.

I've got your back." But what's
messaged in our behavior when you

step in and rescue someone who's
struggling with a difficult problem

or got asked a difficult question?

What's transmitted in our behavior
is a message that says…?

Matt Abrahams: You're not capable.

Liz Wiseman: Yeah.

I don't think you can do it.

I don't trust you.

And trust is really at the core of what
good leadership is, like, to trust other

people and then to be trusted by them.

So I think part of the art of being a
good leader is understanding that intent

alone is not enough, that you really
have to work in the realm of how your

actions are impacting other people.

Align that intent with, with impact.

So what should people stop doing?

Assuming that good intent is enough.

Because it's as diminishing
as the tyrannical bully.

Matt Abrahams: One of the things I like
so much about the work you do is not only

do you give specific advice, you help
categorize and help people understand,

but you have data behind it, and there
are a lot of people who do some of the

stuff you do that don't have the data.

And it's amazing to me how
diminishing can actually impact or

not impact the work that happens.

As you were going through some
of these accidental diminishing

behaviors, I, I saw many in myself.

I often have lots of brainstorming
and think I'm helping people.

Well, maybe I'm not.

Maybe I'm overwhelming.

Maybe I'm overshadowing.

How do we uncover the well-intended
acts that could be diminishing?

Is it through having a coach?

Is it through reflection?

How do we learn that about ourselves?

I mean, I had a couple epiphanies
just listening to that answer.

So not everybody has access to
you in the moment like this.

What can we do so we can figure
that out so we're not doing it?

Because as you said,
it's, it's not intent.

That's not the intent.

The intent is actually the opposite.

Liz Wiseman: You've
listed a bunch of them.

One is sometimes just hearing the
names, and there were a few others,

like perfectionist, strategist,
um, optimist, which is one of my

accidental diminisher tendencies.

Sometimes just hearing that and hearing
how, like, oh, yeah, with the optimism,

I'm intending to send the message that
I think we can do this, but what I'm

really overlooking is how hard this is
and the struggle it takes to get there.

Um, so sometimes just
hearing the names is enough.

Uh, sometimes it requires a conversation.

Here's what I don't recommend anyone do.

Like, sit people down and say, "Hey, am
I a diminisher?" Or even asking, "Am I

an accidental diminisher?" Like, here's
a question that you could ask, and

Matt, this might be one of the questions
that you could ask over and over again.

What am I doing with really good
intentions that might be shutting

down good ideas, good thinking?

Like, what am I doing with the best
of intentions that is making it

difficult for you to do your best work?

Matt Abrahams: I love that question.

Liz Wiseman: People can answer that.

Because it's easy for me to talk with you
about like, "Matt, you're doing this thing

that I know you're trying to help me, but
actually, like, let me suffer and figure

this out. I will figure it out on my own,
but I appreciate the offer." It's really

hard to give feedback to your boss on
things that seem, um, a little malintent.

Matt Abrahams: I love it because
the question is framed from a place

of you're trying to help, and I'm
actually reflecting some of the

best, uh, best critical feedback
I've ever received was in that vein.

It was like, "You're sharing too many
ideas. It's overwhelming." You know,

and that was really helpful for me.

Thank you.

Many things you've said
have been really helpful.

I, I'm gonna take that
question and, and leverage it.

We'll be right back to finish our
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And now, back to our conversation.

You know, Liz, I knew
this was gonna be great.

Before we end, I like to ask
everybody three questions.

One I make up just for you,
and two I've been asking

everybody for a long, long time.

Are you up for that?

Liz Wiseman: Let's do it.

Matt Abrahams: I know you're currently
doing some really interesting research as

you prepare to bring it into the world.

Is there anything you can share about
your, your current focus that, that we

can, one, maybe get intrigued by, but
is there a nugget or two you can share?

Liz Wiseman: Yeah.

I am looking at the making of a
great leader, which means I'm also

looking at the making of a bad leader.

And what I'm trying to understand
is how do our formative experiences

in the workplace and in life, how
does it shape the way that we lead?

How does it shape the way we show
up, and what are the patterns that

the best leaders have experienced?

And what I can share is that there
are some very distinct windows of

influence, periods in our work life
where a little bit of good leadership

goes a long way and a little bit of bad
leadership goes a really long way as well.

Like, where we create these imprints
that stay with us for a long time

and lurk in our heads and tell
us how to operate, how to lead.

Um, a few of those are, um, our
first job and our first boss

has huge imprinting quality.

New assignments, new terrain, anywhere
where we're, like, doubting ourselves

and we don't know what we're doing.

Mistakes, like victories and defeat.

The thrill of victory and the agony
of defeat creates these really,

um, formative kinds of experiences.

And then, of course, our upbringing.

And one of the things that I'm finding in
this research is that the best leaders,

when we look at this pool of, like,
people who are really great leaders today,

there's a few things they have in common.

They have a history of adversity.

Early in life or early in career, like,
resolved adversity, and they don't

all have a history of great bosses.

Like, just having great bosses
doesn't make you a great leader.

Matt Abrahams: I love that
you're studying the development

of leaders, both good and bad.

I can think about my trajectory and
some of those key points along the way.

Now, as somebody who used to run learning
and development organizations before

I came back to academia, how valuable
would this be to, to understand this

so as you're bringing on new employees,
increasing your bench strength, to really

understand where those key inflection
points are and how you can help people

have a more positive experience?

I think that's wonderful.

I look forward to that work.

Let me ask question number two.

Who's a communicator
that you admire, and why?

Liz Wiseman: I wanted
to mention Kim Scott.

Matt Abrahams: Yeah.

Kim's been on the show and is a friend.

Liz Wiseman: Radical Candor.

There's something I've noticed that
she does regularly, um, and it was

a real, I, I think, a real factor in
the success she had at Google, and

she, she mentions it in her book, is
that Kim presents opposing opinions.

Like, when she would, and I've,
uh, she's a friend of mine.

I see her do this, is, like, when she
would go and be presenting a case for we

need to increase headcount here or funding
here, go this direction, and she would

present it to, like, Larry and Sergey.

She would always say, "But let me tell
you why we might not want to do that."

And I think it's an amazing practice.

If you wanna increase the impact
of your communication, don't just

advocate for a single position.

Like, be willing to talk
about the downsides, the

underbelly, the risks of that.

I think it massively
increases your impact.

So that's just one example
and someone I admire.

Matt Abrahams: I've noticed that,
too, that she, she definitely brings

up the opposing view, and, and
that, that really is very helpful.

Final question, what are the first
three ingredients that go into a

successful communication recipe?

Liz Wiseman: Well, I think good
communication starts with respect,

and not necessarily interpersonal
respect, respect for people's time.

I took a writing course early
on in my career, and I remember

what it said is, "The cost of
writing is the cost of reading."

Matt Abrahams: Oh, interesting.

Yeah.

Liz Wiseman: So we often think
of communication as, like,

what does it take to create it?

But the real cost of communication
is what it takes to consume it, and I

think when we start communicating with
respect for people's time and energy

they're gonna put into the receiving
of it, I think we do a better job.

Maybe next from there would be empathy.

To understand that the person or people
with whom you're communicating have had

a different experience with that issue
or topic than you have, that they've

got a different perspective on it, that
maybe your point of view is not the

only point of view in this situation, I
think allows us to communicate better.

And then clarity, like knowing your point.

Matt Abrahams: Being clear
and concise, having empathy,

appreciating others come to your
content differently, very important.

I really like this idea of thinking
about the time and energy that those

receiving our messages have to take.

How can we maximize it for
them instead of for us?

So much, uh, that you have shared
with us that has really helped us.

Uh, you truly were a multiplier today
for all of us to learn and grow, and,

uh, it's lovely to learn from you
in this format versus the walking

around the lake that we typically do.

Thank you so much for being here, Liz,
and I look forward to your new work.

Liz Wiseman: It's a pleasure, Matt.

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

Fast, Talk Smart, the podcast.

To learn more about leadership and being
your best at work, please listen to

episode 147 and 212 with Whitney Johnson.

This episode was produced by Katherine
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