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Think Faster, Talk Smarter
A review of

Think Faster, Talk Smarter

How to Speak Successfully When You're Put on the Spot

Matt Abrahams • Macmillan Publishers • 2023

When Life Hands You a Mic

by Patricia Sanders

Have you ever been called on to speak at a meeting or make a spontaneous toast, only to be rendered frozen, tongue-tied, and wishing you could disappear? Happily, you needn’t kiss the Blarney Stone to acquire the gift of the gab. Matt Abrahams, a Stanford professor and communications expert, has the cure for our sweaty-palmed, speechless moments. He lays out practical strategies to help you speak with confidence and clarity so that the next time you’re put on the spot, you’ll handle it with ease.

Some people are natural-born charmers. When a toast is called for, they’re equipped with engaging anecdotes, a sharp wit, and an eloquent turn of phrase. But for everyone else, unexpected calls to speak can trigger a flight-or-freeze response. Maybe your attempts at composure and eloquence fall short when the moment to speak arrives. Or perhaps, mid-thought, you lose the plot — and the map, compass, and GPS.

Thankfully, award-winning communications educator Matt Abrahams has the cure for your communicative cold sweats and keynote catastrophes. Abrahams, a lecturer in organizational behavior at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, hosts the popular Think Fast, Talk Smart podcast. He’s turned countless sweaty-palmed stammerers —including Fortune 100 executives, TED presenters, and Nobel Prize winners — into clear, compelling, confident speakers.