Think Fast, Talk Smart – How to communicate confidently when under pressure

Stanford Speaks: Professor Matt Abrahams,
Lecturer, Organization Behavior & Strategic Communication
Stanford Graduate School of Business

Cocktails, Thursday, 6 December 2018, 18:00-19:30 pm, Offices of Skadden

A special mini-GSB course on effective speaking in stressful and spontaneous situations from one of the world’s leading business school experts.

Event Details:
Communication is critical to success in business and life. Concerned about an upcoming interview? Anxious about being asked to give your thoughts during a meeting? Fearful about needing to provide critical feedback in the moment? You are not alone! Many of us are uneasy about speaking in public, especially in impromptu, “off the cuff” situations. Learn and practice techniques that will help you speak spontaneously with greater confidence and clarity, regardless of content and context.

The Stanford GSB Chapter of Hong Kong is pleased to invite you to a cocktail event and interactive lecture with Matt Abrahams of the Stanford GSB. Not only is this a great way to celebrate the end of the year and meet Stanford alums, but you will leave with very practical tools you can immediately employ to help you deliver more confident and compelling communication. This session will be interactive and full of fun activities.

Speaker’s Bio:
Matt Abrahams, Lecturer, Organizational Behavior , Stanford Graduate School of Business

Matt has been a lecturer at the GSB since 2011. In 2018, he won the Robert K. Jaedicke Faculty Award; the award (formerly called the Silver Apple) is presented annually to a member of the Stanford GSB faculty for service to the school’s alumni, as Matt regularly helped alumni hone their communication skills by leading chapter events around the world.

In the past two years, Matt has taught courses on “Essentials of Strategic Communications, and Effective Virtual Communication”, at the GSB. He also teaches courses on Virtual Presenting (web, teleconference, video) for the GSB’s Senior Executive Program. Prior to teaching, Matt held senior leadership positions in several leading software companies, where he created and ran global training and development organizations.

Matt has published research articles on cognitive planning, persuasion, and interpersonal communication. His book and TEDx Palo Alto on Speaking Up Without Freaking Out (now in its 3rd edition) aims to help people who suffer from anxiety around speaking in public.

Matt is also Co-Founder of Bold Echo Communication Solutions, which is an industry leading communication coaching consulting practice, helping executives become more confident and compelling speakers.

Matt received his undergraduate degree in psychology from Stanford; his graduate degree in communication studies from UC Davis; and his secondary education teaching credential from SFSU. He is currently a member of the Management Communication Association (where he recently received a “Rising Star” award) as well as the National and Western States Communication Associations.

Learn more about Matt Abrahams: www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/faculty/matt-forrest-abrahams.