Think Fast Talk Smart: Communication Techniques

Celebrating 300 episodes with listener questions from around the world. 
In this special 300th episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, host Matt Abrahams celebrates a major milestone with a live Ask Matt Anything session featuring questions from listeners around the world—and a few from the team behind the show. He introduces a new communication framework, PREP (Point, Reason, Example, Point), before tackling topics ranging from word recall and public speaking nerves to storytelling, AI’s impact on communication, giving difficult feedback, and using gestures more effectively. Along the way, he shares practical strategies, favorite communication techniques, and lessons learned from 300 episodes dedicated to helping people communicate with confidence, clarity, and connection.

To listen to the extended Deep Thinks version of this episode, please visit FasterSmarter.io/premium.

Episode Reference Links:
Connect:

 Chapters:

  • (00:00) - Introduction
  • (01:13) - PREP Framework
  • (04:13) - Improving Word Recall
  • (07:10) - Public Speaking Nerves
  • (11:35) - Concise vs. Detailed Communication
  • (13:39) - AI & Communication Skills
  • (16:12) - Storytelling Fundamentals
  • (18:51) - Lingo vs. Jargon
  • (20:22) - Difficult Feedback Conversations
  • (22:36) - The Power of Paraphrasing
  • (25:07) - Effective Gestures
  • (29:28) - Conclusion

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Creators and Guests

Host
Matt Abrahams
Lecturer Stanford University Graduate School of Business | Think Fast Talk Smart podcast host

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: Communication
is critical to success in your

professional and personal lives.

This idea has served as the
guiding principle of our

show ever since we started.

And today, we are thrilled to
be celebrating our 300th episode

with a special Ask Matt Anything.

My name is Matt Abrahams, and I
teach Strategic Communication at

Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Welcome to Think Fast,
Talk Smart, the podcast.

It's hard to believe that
this is our 300th episode.

I want to start by thanking
each and every one of you for

listening and viewing our show.

We work really hard to bring you great
content through our show and social

media, and we truly appreciate your
input in helping us spread the word.

For this episode, we wanted to
hear from you and help with your

communication issues and challenges.

We recorded this live a few weeks back.

I start with a quick lesson
about a structure I find

myself using more and more.

And then we move into questions
from listeners around the globe.

And as a special treat, I begin with
questions from some of our amazing

team that help bring you the show.

So without further ado, let's get started.

So welcome.

This is our three hundredth episode.

We are excited that you are here, and
we are thrilled that you take the time

to listen to Think Fast, Talk Smart.

Before I get started taking your
questions, I would love to share

a new favorite structure of mine.

You are all very familiar with
the fact that I love structure.

Structure is nothing more than a logical
way of putting your points forward.

We have all heard of my favorite
structure, three questions.

What?

So what?

Now what?

This structure is very useful
for lots of situations.

You can use it when you're giving
feedback, when you're giving an update,

when you're introducing yourself.

This structure is very useful
for educating and informing.

A new structure that I find myself
relying on a lot as I have to

articulate a point of view or defend
a position is one I learned from

a lawyer friend of mine, PREP.

Point, reason, example, point.

This is a great structure to use
when you have to put forth an

idea, when you have to support
something that you're advocating for.

It works very simply.

You make a point, you give a
rationale or reason supporting that

point, give a concrete example.

We tend to remember concrete examples
far better than high level information.

And then we return to the point.

So point, reason, example, point.

Let me share with you an example that
in the classes I teach at Stanford's

Business School we like to use as a
way of getting practice with this.

And I assign my students to
defend one side of this argument.

So some are for it and
some are against it.

So the issue is, is a burrito sushi?

So how would you support that?

If you wanted to support
it, you might use PREP.

So let's walk through
this one part at a time.

The point is, a burrito is
technically a type of sushi.

The reason, both are fundamentally
seasoned rice fillings tight packly

together in an edible cylindrical wrapper.

An example, a burrito wraps meat and
rice in a tortilla, while sushi is

fish and rice wrapped in seaweed.

So I would then restate my point.

Thus, a burrito is
technically a type of sushi.

And in so doing, I have
made a clear, concise point.

So I challenge each of you to
think about how you could use PREP.

I'm going to give all of
you a little homework.

The other issue that we debate
in my class is, is soup cereal?

How would you defend that
if you were to use PREP?

Point, reason, example, point.

So now you have another structure to
add to your toolkit of structures.

Goes right next to
what, so what, now what?

So let's get into some of your
questions and challenges that

you have in your communication.

But before I take time to take
your questions, I want to introduce

you to a few members of our team.

This is our 300th episode, and we
work really hard to bring you the best

in careers and communication advice.

And while you get to see and hear me,
there is an amazing team behind the

scenes that brings this all to you.

So I thought it would be really fun to
start our Q&A with some Q&A from the team.

So it is my honor and privilege to
invite to the screen Katherine Reed.

Kat is our executive producer
and the brains behind all

of what you hear and see.

Kat, how are you doing?

Katherine Reed: I'm good.

How are you, Matt?

Matt Abrahams: I'm doing great.

I love these live events.

You have a question?

I'd love to hear your question.

Katherine Reed: Yes.

Very glad to be with you on this
special occasion, and thank you

to all that were able to join.

So my question is about word recall.

I find for myself there are many times
during conversations or discussions

when I know that there's a specific
word that I want to use, but I can't

quite seem to retrieve it in the moment.

Sometimes I'll pause, and I'll give
myself some grace and say something

like, "What's the word I'm looking
for?" to buy myself a little time.

So my question is, do you have advice for
improving word recall in those moments or

strategies for retrieving the right word
when it just feels like it's out of reach?

Matt Abrahams: Well, I
appreciate that question.

And as somebody who's getting older,
retrieval of information of any

kind is, is getting challenging.

The first thing I would suggest,
Kat, is that as you think about

this, there really is no right word.

There are certainly
better words than others.

So sometimes what makes it hard to
retrieve a word is you have this word

in mind, and then you say, "I want
to say that right word," and then

that puts added pressure to yourself.

So I really like the fact that you
take a pause, take a beat, take

perhaps a deep breath in that moment.

And when you take the pressure off
of yourself of saying the right word,

actually it might come more easily.

The first thing is to not
make it harder on yourself by

adding to your anxiety level.

The next piece has to do with
practice, the way we practice.

Now, we don't want to memorize.

We don't want to make sure that every word
is exactly the way we wanted to say it.

That adds extra pressure.

But through repetition, those words become
more comfortable and easy to retrieve.

That's what practice is doing.

It's actually laying down the neural
pathways that make fluency easier for you.

So part of it is the
practice and the prep.

Again, not to memorize, but
just to get familiar with.

And then the second part is when
you have that missed moment, don't

put too much pressure on yourself.

Take a deep breath, and I
hope that word will come.

And I, Kat, as somebody who talks to
you many times every day, have found

that you use expert language, and I've
never noticed anything other than that.

So thank you for your question.

I appreciate it.

Well, you got to meet Kat,
our executive producer.

I'd like for you to meet another one of
our absolutely instrumental and important

colleagues here at Think Fast Talk Smart.

I'd love for you to meet Neil McPhedran.

Neil and I have been working together
almost since the inception of the show.

Neil, thanks for being with us, and I'd
love to hear what question you have.

Neil McPhedran: Thanks, Matt.

Great to join you here.

So Matt, my question's about a moment as
well, like Kat's, but a different moment.

So I'm curious about those first
five seconds of public speaking, that

exact moment when it just feels like
all the eyes suddenly turn to you.

So in fact, I just had one where one
second I was sitting here listening,

and next I'm popped up on everyone's
screen, asked this question.

So whether it's joining a Zoom
presentation, suddenly, boom, you're

the focus or walking out onto that
stage after being introduced and

the applause stops, and there's that
instant where for me, it feels like

I've just jumped into cold water.

What are your favorite strategies for
handling that surge of adrenaline, like

settling your nerves and ultimately
starting those first few seconds strongly?

Matt Abrahams: Thank
you for that question.

And, and that moment right before
you start, what I call commencing,

is really powerful for many people
and can be very anxiety fraught.

So it's something we
really need to think about.

Let me share a few
things about that moment.

One, as we practice, as we prepare,
which is really important to do, we can

think about that moment knowing that
that moment might be difficult for us.

We can desensitize
ourselves to that moment.

So we think about what it would be like.

We can actually visualize the
experience and then think about how

we might adjust and adapt in advance.

Having that contingency plan ready to go,
one, can allow us to invoke it when need

be, and two, just the fact that we know
we have something to do if we get that

surge of adrenaline in that moment, that
can actually reduce its intensity just

by knowing that we have something to do.

So part of it is the preparation.

When that moment hits, I want
to walk you through three steps.

When it comes to dealing with
anxiety around speaking, we

need to think of the ABC's.

Affect, that's feeling.

B is for behavior, how
you physiologically feel.

And then C is for cognition.

And we can do a management
technique for each.

So let's start with the A. That emotion
you feel might be dread, might be fear.

In that moment, just remind yourself
that it's normal and natural.

Most people, and I mean, like eighty-five
percent of people, have that surge

of anxiety that you're talking about.

So recognizing that it's
normal and natural can help.

And when you do that, you acknowledge it.

You actually give yourself a little
bit of space and agency, so you can

do something in that moment A great
thing to do is to remind yourself that

this is normal and natural to feel
anxious, and it actually is a sign that

this is important to you and valuable.

And you can get excited about something
that's important and valuable.

As you well know, Neil, a frequent
guest of our show is Alison Wood Brooks.

She did some groundbreaking research
quite a while back now that said

if you reframe your anxiety as
excitement, not only do you feel

better, but you actually perform better.

So in that moment, the affect piece,
acknowledge, "Hey, this is me feeling

nervous. Makes sense I'm nervous. Most
people would be, and that's a sign that

I should be excited about this." In terms
of behavior in that moment, five seconds,

10 seconds before you start, best thing
you can do is take a deep belly breath.

It's going to slow your heart rate down.

It's going to calm down those nerves.

Make sure your exhale is
twice as long as your inhale.

It is all in the exhale
that the magic happens.

And then finally, from a cognitive point
of view, often in those few moments

before we start speaking, we say a
lot of negative things to ourselves.

"I'm not prepared.

I should have done more.

Why am I doing this?

Why isn't this other person doing
it?" Instead, let's replace that

with something positive, a positive
affirmation, a positive mantra.

Doesn't have to be, "I'm the best
speaker ever." Could be something simple.

This is what I do before I speak,
and I get nervous, and I still do

get nervous in some situations.

I simply say, "I have value to bring.
I have something of value to the

person or people that I'm speaking
to." So at first you prepare.

You think about, "What will I do
if I have that experience?" And

then ABC, the affective part.

It's normal and natural, typical for
somebody to get nervous in this situation.

B, do some deep breathing.

That's for the behavioral piece.

And C for the cognition, reframe
it and see it through the lens of

some kind of affirmation or mantra.

If you do those things,
you'll be better off.

Thanks, Neil, and I'm glad
everybody got to meet you and Kat.

So let's see.

We've got some questions coming in.

First question's from Ethiopia.

Wow.

Hello, hello.

Uh, I talk a lot about tell the
time, don't build the clock.

Yet on the other hand, I will often
say listeners tend to remember

specifics more than generalities.

So I find those two
concepts contradictory.

How can you make sure that
you're concise and clear and

at the same time give detail?

This is a great question because
it is a contradiction, right?

It is a little bit confusing.

How can we be concise but
detailed at the same time?

So this is a trade-off, and there
are a number of trade-offs that we

have to make whenever we communicate.

We want to be specific and detailed, but
we also want to be clear and concise.

So the question then becomes
how much detail do I give?

And it really depends on your
audience and the emotional

impact you're trying to have.

If I am trying to really motivate,
impress upon you how important this is,

I might spend a little bit more time
giving detail because in that emotional

experience you'll have of my detail,
you are focusing in a way that you

don't if I'm just relaying facts, if
I'm just walking through, let's say,

financial data or some technical data
where there isn't as much emotion.

It really depends on what your goal is
in terms of the engagement you want.

If you want engagement that's deep and
perhaps emotional, over-index, spend

a little more time giving detail,
which means you won't be as concise.

If you're giving details that are
devoid or, or don't have a lot of

emotions, then I might really fixate
on being concise and clear to allow me

to get to a point in my communication
where I do want to bring emotion.

So I really appreciate the deep
thinking that you had there in

terms of the advice that I give.

It is a tension between concision and
depth, and you have to find your best way

of navigating that, and, and I believe
it has to do with who you're speaking

to and the emotion you want to engage.

Thank you so much for that question.

Really insightful.

I appreciate it.

All right, our next question.

With a growing reliance on AI for
summarization, email drafts, slides,

how do you ensure our cognitive
and linguistic skills remain sharp?

Oh, wow.

This is something that I have
been spending a lot of my

time recently thinking about.

AI is fundamentally changing
the way we communicate.

And in fact, I believe that AI is
actually making face-to-face, spontaneous,

in-the-moment communication even more
important And it's more important because

that's how we authentically connect.

In theory, AI can polish and in some cases
perfect our communication, but it makes

it more restrictive and blunts its emotion
and reduces some of its connection.

Part of that is that we offload our
cognitive effort to the AI tool.

We don't have to think as much.

And communication and critical
thinking are intimately related.

You can't communicate well without
critically thinking, and you

can't critically think without
being able to communicate well.

And as we offload some of that
critical thinking burden, we

ultimately, I fear, lessen our skills.

And we're starting to see this.

Some recent research came out that
says people are speaking less.

We're just saying less.

Part of what AI does is it increases
concision, so we, we speak less.

People's language and words are
starting to become compressed.

In other words, we're sounding
more the same because we're

relying on the same tools.

That's all just proof points
to say that AI does have an

impact on our communication.

So how do we make sure to leverage AI
for the many benefits it can bring to us

and not suffer some of the consequences?

Well, it has to do with when
we use it and how we use it.

I think AI is a great tool to help you
think through your audience, to use it as

a thought partner in terms of different
ways of arguing and structuring content.

But do not rely on it to make all
the decisions for you and to create

the content instead of you actually
thinking through it yourself.

So use it as you would, let's say, a
partner, or if you're a manager, as you

might use an intern, somebody to help
you, but not to do the work for you,

because if we outsource it all the way,
we actually lose some of the most precious

communication skills that we have.

So thank you for that insightful question.

This is an issue that I have been thinking
about a lot, and you highlight both the

value of AI and some of the downsides.

Let's see.

In my work, I find that storytelling is
important for sharing information with

others rather than academic teaching.

Do you have any takeaways
for storytelling?

Oh, storytelling is so important.

First, human beings are
storytelling machines.

We are wired for story.

Long before we had the written
word, our species communicated

information through stories.

Think about folklore, legends.

We're wired for story.

So if we can tap into that, we
can be much more successful.

Stories engage and connect, so much
so that when I tell a story, my

brainwaves and your brainwaves sync up.

It's called cognitive entrainment.

And in some cases, when you look
at the neurological feedback, you

can't tell who was telling the
story versus who was receiving it.

Now the question becomes: how do we
learn to become good storytellers?

I hope this show, Think Fast,
Talk Smart, provides some of the

very important tools to do that.

We've done several
episodes on storytelling.

We did one with Matthew Dicks.

We did a whole miniseries on
storytelling from people who have

non-traditional storytelling jobs.

Think of a lawyer, think of a magician.

Lots of different situations
where people tell stories, and

we really try to dissect them.

It is a skill.

It is a skill you can learn, and
everybody has to develop their

own style around storytelling.

A great way to get started is
to think about stories in your

life, things that have happened.

Create a catalog of stories that
you have experienced or that you

have seen, and begin to refine them.

Think about, how can I add detail,
emotion, make it relatable to people?

How can I start it in
a way that's engaging?

So it is a process.

It's a process you have to practice.

Another great way to get good
at storytelling is just listen

to other people's stories.

Find people that you really
admire who tell good stories, and

begin to dissect what do they do.

Do they start at the beginning, or
do they start in the middle and then

bring you back to the beginning?

Do they use a lot of descriptive words?

Do they lead with emotion?

All of these are really interesting
tools that you can deploy

to be a better storyteller.

I encourage all of you to work
on your storytelling skills.

And please, please consider Think Fast,
Talk Smart as a good resource for that.

If you go to our website,
fastersmarter.io, and you go to the

Resources page, you'll actually see
some playlists that talk through

stories and how to tell good stories.

So thank you for that question.

Let's see.

From San Diego, one of my favorite places.

How do you know when to use
lingo to relate with your

audience and to avoid jargon?

Yeah, this is a really, again,
a tricky tension that we have.

Sometimes using specific terminology,
lingo as you say, can actually

demonstrate your competence.

The problem is, if you use too much
of it, or you use that terminology

with others who aren't in the know
or don't have the experience you do,

then it tips into jargon, and jargon
is wording that it can be distancing.

One of my colleagues, he's been
on the show twice, Huggy Rao.

Huggy likes to talk about jargon monoxide.

It suffocates communication.

So we want to avoid using lingo, technical
speak, acronyms just for the use of them.

They should serve a purpose.

So if the purpose is to demonstrate
competence, to connect with your

audience on a deep level because
they know the terms well, then I

would suggest using those terms.

But if you think someone in the
audience might not be aware or they

don't have the depth of knowledge,
at the very least, define your terms.

Maybe you show them on a
slide, maybe you spell them out

the first time you use them.

There is more reputational risk,
I believe, in using jargon,

terminology people don't know, than
there is reputational advantage to

using lingo that people do know.

I think you are set farther back by
using jargon than you are put farther

ahead by using appropriate lingo.

So I'd like to introduce you to a
few more of our team members who

work tirelessly behind the scenes
to help bring Think Fast, Talk Smart

to you twice a week every week.

Kylé, I'd love to have
you join me on screen.

Kylé helps with so many facets of how
we make our show work for all of you.

Welcome, Kylé.

I know you've got a question for me.

Would love to hear it.

Kylé McPhedran: Hi, Matt.

Nice to see you here.

I have a question about
high emotion situations.

As a leader, I sometimes feel very
nervous before difficult one-on-one

conversations with employees, especially
when I need to ask a hard question

or give constructive feedback where
they could potentially get emotional.

How do I stay calm before and during
the moment, make sure I actually deliver

my point while still addressing the
situation clearly, but showing care?

Matt Abrahams: Well, so Kylé, just
so you all know, Kylé is a very

empathetic and kind person, and
that's demonstrated in your question.

Because often as a leader, we have
to give constructive feedback.

We have to give direction that
might be challenging for those

that are reporting to us.

And it's really appropriate
to be concerned about their

emotions, but also your emotions.

So if this is a circumstance where
you actually get to plan it out in

advance, then I would be thinking
through not just the messaging.

One of the many structures that
we cover, what, so what now, what

is a great way to give feedback.

What is the feedback?

So what is why it's important.

Now what is what you'd like
the person to do differently.

So thinking through the structure, maybe
even practicing vocalizing it can help.

But also thinking through the
emotions that you might feel in that

moment, and really think through
what this might be like for you.

Anxiety, maybe there's a little
bit of frustration with the person.

By cataloging and thinking about
those emotions first, that can help

you come up with a contingency plan.

And then remind yourself, your
job as a leader, as a manager,

is to help your team succeed and
to help your employees succeed.

And part of that is actually
giving constructive feedback.

So taking the time to plan the
message and to plan for the

emotion can be really helpful.

Kylé McPhedran: That's really helpful.

Thank you very much.

Matt Abrahams: Very good.

All right, let me now take one
more question from one of our

team that helps bring the show.

I'd like to bring Greg in.

Greg is so helpful, particularly on
all the technical aspects of our show.

Greg, good to see you.

Thanks for being here.

I'd love to hear your question.

Gregg Oldring: Wonderful to see you, too.

Thanks, Matt, and hello, listeners.

Okay, my question is this, and
I think the listeners will have

noticed this, listening to this
show, that you have a superpower,

and that superpower is summarizing.

You have an incredible ability to do it.

You listen to somebody speak,
and you repeat back what

they've said in your own words.

And what that does for us as
listeners of the show, I think

it clarifies what's been said and
helps us to understand and remember.

And having worked with you now for
a couple of years, what it does for

me personally is it shows empathy.

It shows that you are listening to what
I'm saying, and so it feels good as

the person receiving that summary back.

And so my question to you is this: What
is going through your mind right now as

you are listening to my long, rambling,
uh, preamble to my question, so that

you can summarize what I have said?

Matt Abrahams: So you're really
asking about paraphrasing

and how I go about doing it.

As I listen to our guests, as I listen to
you, as I will be listening and reading

the questions from others today, I am
always asking myself, what's the bottom

line of what the person is saying, and why
and how is it relevant, in the case of the

interviews on the show, to the audience?

As you're speaking, I'm listening
intently, and I'm constantly thinking

to myself, what's the bottom line?

What's the key point the person is making?

I might get it wrong, and that's where
paraphrasing actually helps because

not only does it validate you, it says,
"I've heard you," but it also allows

me to validate that I got it right.

Because if I miss it,
you could correct me.

Paraphrasing not only is a tool for
connection, it's a fidelity check.

Fidelity is the accuracy and clarity
of the transmission of the information.

It's a wonderful tool to connect, and
it's a wonderful tool to make sure

I'm hearing what people are saying.

And I encourage all of you to practice.

At the end of every one of our
episodes, I would love for you to

take a moment and say, what was the
bottom line key takeaway from that

episode for me, you as the listener?

And then we hope you put it into practice.

But by training that skill, you can
really help yourself connect and make sure

you're accurately hearing information.

How'd I do, Greg?

Did I paraphrase that well?

Gregg Oldring: You paraphrased it well.

Matt Abrahams: Greg, you do amazing
work, as does the rest of the team.

Thank you for the question.

Let's take one final question, please.

Please share tips for beginning
speakers to seem unplanned in using

gestures while having actually
planned and rehearsed ahead.

Oh, well, I've got a
little teaser for you.

Coming up actually right around the
time this episode, our three hundredth

episode airs, I am interviewing
Vanessa Van Edwards, and Vanessa is

an amazing researcher as well as a
presenter on communication issues.

And we talked exactly about this issue.

You'll hear the dialogue and discussion
there, but I'll give you a summary here.

Gestures are really important.

Gestures are, for the audience, a way
that we can engage in a multimodal way.

Our brains are primarily designed
to take in the world visually.

There are more parts of the
human brain dedicated to vision,

seeing, than to the other senses.

So while I'm speaking, you have an
area in your brain that's verbal,

but there's a lot more that's visual.

So when I'm gesturing in a consistent
way, I'm actually reinforcing what I'm

saying because you're seeing it and
you're hearing it, and I'm activating

a lot of brain regions for doing it.

Now, for me as a communicator, the
one, in this case, speaking, gestures

actually offload cognitive load.

So when I gesture, I actually make
it easier for myself to think.

So if my gestures are consistent
with what I'm saying, it

actually helps me be clearer.

It increases my processing fluency.

And for you, it makes it easier
to understand because I'm

engaging multiple brain systems.

So gesturing is really important.

How do we practice it though
so we don't look robotic?

First, we do not want to script gestures.

I do not want to start a speech in a very
scripted way because it looks scripted, it

looks disingenuous, it looks inauthentic.

So how do we practice?

For many people who are just beginning
to work on gestures, my biggest bit of

advice is play charades as you speak.

Charades is a game where we
don't use words to describe

things, we use our gestures.

Use what are known as
descriptive gestures.

So if I'm standing up giving a,
a sales pitch and say, "This is a

big opportunity," I gesture big.

I wouldn't say, "This is a big
opportunity," and gesture small.

If I were saying, "Profits will
likely rise," I do a gesture

that demonstrates rising.

You're mimicking or mirroring
the words in your gestures.

And if you're not comfortable with
gesturing or you want to learn

to gesture more, starting with
descriptive gestures is easiest.

Then you graduate to what are
called emphatic gestures, and

if you've ever watched me speak,
you see I use a lot of these.

Emphatic gestures are
gestures that add emphasis.

They don't have an immediate
correlate to what I'm saying.

A former student of mine actually
introduced a technique to me for

practicing this as he was preparing
for a presentation he had in my class.

What he would do is he would audio
record himself, do, like, a voice memo

of him presenting his presentation,
not memorized, not reading it.

He would just talk it
through and record it.

And then he would put earbuds in, he
would stand up, and he would listen to

himself saying the words, and he would
just walk around practicing the gestures

that he might say as those words were
delivered, not to script them, but

to give him the cognitive bandwidth.

He didn't have to think of
what to say because he was just

listening to himself say it.

He could actually think about his
gestures and say, "You know, at this

point, I should probably do a really
big gesture. At this point, maybe I

should move because it's a transition."

He was freeing up his brain to think
about how he wanted to gesture because he

didn't need to use all of that cognitive
bandwidth to think of what he was saying.

So this is a great way to practice.

It's an intermediate step.

You absolutely need to practice speaking
and gesturing, but before that, you

can do this technique of recording it,
listening to it while you're presenting.

So those are all ways to
hone and develop gesturing.

Start with descriptive gestures, know
that gestures are helping you and

your audience, and record yourself and
practice listening to that recording.

With that, I will simply say, first,
thank you for joining me for this.

I thoroughly enjoyed the questions.

I hope you found value in the answers.

So there you have it, our 300th episode.

Thank you again for
listening and your support.

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If you like celebration episodes,
please take a listen to our 250th

episode all about managing conflict.

This episode was produced by
Katherine Reed, Shelby Merriweather,

Ryan Campos, and me, Matt Abrahams.

Our music is from Floyd Wonder, with
special thanks to Podium Podcast Company.

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