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Think Fast and Talk Smart-Matt Abrahams of Stanford & Dr Susan Zhang NVIDIA
About this event
Matt Abrahams of Stanford and Dr Susan Zhang of NVIDIA joined an in-person session on quick thinking and spontaneous communication. The event invited alumni to develop their speaking skills and connect with fellow participants.
Event recap
Matt Abrahams of Stanford and Dr Susan Zhang of NVIDIA spoke at the University of Wollongong, at an evening held with the International Business Schools Society and hosted by Markus Wagner.
Matt shared his “What? So What? Now What?” structure for keeping a message clear and concise. On nerves, he noted that about 85% of people feel nervous when speaking, and suggested slow breathing, holding something cold and tongue twisters to stay present. He also recommended speaking from a roadmap of key points rather than a memorised script.
Susan spoke about acting at 80% certainty rather than waiting until everything is known, and about the value of founders being able to explain their product in plain English. She cautioned against “empathy atrophy” when people lean too heavily on AI. The conversation also covered AI in education and parenting, and the idea of a future divided into token producers and token consumers.
Stanford news shared on the night included the GSB’s number one ranking for AI, Sarah Soule’s first year as Dean, and a new course on the creator economy starting at Stanford this northern autumn.