Join Adam Tobin, a senior lecturer at Stanford specializing in film and media, and Patricia Ryan Madsen, a professor emerita from the Stanford Drama Department and author of Improv Wisdom, as they explore the transformative power of improv in communication. They discuss how stepping into uncertainty fosters genuine connections and celebrates mistakes as opportunities for growth. With insights on balancing preparation and spontaneity, this engaging chat reveals that embracing the moment can lead to more authentic and effective conversations.
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insights INSIGHT
Safe Spaces in Communication
Improv helps you communicate better by teaching you how to create safe spaces.
This allows for exploration, play, and discovery in communication.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Getting Lost
Adam Tobin shared a story about repeatedly getting lost while driving, eventually finding comfort in familiarity with the lost state.
Patricia Ryan Madsen added that getting lost is the point, embracing the experience for its own sake.
insights INSIGHT
The "Yes Mind"
Getting lost involves developing a mindset of acceptance toward whatever happens.
This "yes mind" of improv encourages openness and working with the present moment.
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In 'Think Faster, Talk Smarter', Matt Abrahams offers tangible, actionable skills to help even the most anxious speakers succeed in spontaneous communication. The book provides strategies for managing anxiety, responding to the mood of the room, and making content concise, relevant, compelling, and memorable. Drawing on stories from his clients and students, Abrahams offers best practices for navigating Q&A sessions, job interviews, providing effective feedback, making small talk, fixing faux pas, persuading others, and handling other impromptu speaking tasks.
Improv Wisdom
Don't Prepare, Just Show Up
Patricia Ryan Madson
Improv Wisdom offers practical strategies for embracing uncertainty and living in the moment. It distills thirty years of experience into thirteen simple maxims, such as 'Say Yes' and 'Make Mistakes, Please', to help readers navigate life's challenges with creativity and resilience. The book encourages readers to adopt an improviser's mindset, fostering adaptability, presence, and collaboration in daily life.
If you’re reading from your notes, you're going to miss the magic of the moment. That’s why Adam Tobin, Dan Klein, and Patricia Ryan Madsen bring improv techniques to all their communication.
Communication experts in their respective fields of media, performance, and drama, Tobin, Klein, and Madsen all see the immense power of improv in helping us communicate more freely. As Tobin says, "You do the preparation so that you are expert in the material. And then you let go of the specific delivery of the information in favor of being aware of what's going on now." Madsen agrees, explaining that we don't need all the answers, we just need to show up. "Step first," she says, "then see where you are."
In this celebration of the 100th episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, the three guests join host Matt Abrahams to discuss how improv can transform our communication in everything from small talk to work presentations, and help us create space where we feel safe enough to show up as our most authentic selves.
Think Fast Talk Smart: Communication Techniques 
