To connect with others, you have to get out of your own head.

Whether presenting to millions on live television or talking to just one person, Dan Harris knows that the quality of every interaction depends on the presence you bring to it.

Harris is a former national news anchor for ABC News and is now the host of the 10% Happier podcast and author of 10% Happier and Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics. As he knows from experience, there’s power in “Waking up to something fundamental, that the mind is out of control, and you don't want to be owned by it.” How do we break the pattern of being controlled by our thoughts? Mindfulness and self-awareness, he says, put “distance” between us and our “thoughts and urges and emotions,” enabling us to connect with ourselves and others with greater consciousness and clarity.

In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, Harris and host Matt Abrahams discuss how mindfulness can transform our communication, sharing strategies for deeper listening, responding versus reacting, and reflecting what others say back to them. “Relationships are the most important aspect of your happiness,” Harris says. The quality of those connections goes up when “you’re “less stuck in your own head.”

Episode Reference Links:

• Dan Harris
• Dan’s Books: 10% Happier / Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics
• Ep.179 Finding Positive in Negative Emotions: Communication, Happiness & Wellbeing
• Ep.180 Unlocking Your Future Self: Communication, Happiness & Wellbeing
• Ep.181 Why Happiness is a Direction, Not a Destination: Communication, Happiness & Wellbeing
• Ep.182 Stop Chasing Time and Start Owning It: Communication, Happiness & Wellbeing

Connect:

• Premium Signup >>>> Think Fast Talk Smart Premium
• Email Questions & Feedback >>> hello@fastersmarter.io
• Episode Transcripts >>> Think Fast Talk Smart Website
• Newsletter Signup + English Language Learning >>> FasterSmarter.io
• Think Fast Talk Smart >>> LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube
• Matt Abrahams >>> LinkedIn

Chapters:

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (01:51) - On-Air Panic Attack
• (02:59) - Managing Communication Anxiety
• (04:01) - Nervousness Before Live Audiences
• (05:48) - Meditation Misconceptions
• (09:36) - Responding vs. Reacting
• (12:07) - Mindfulness & Productivity
• (15:11) - Lessons from Interviewing
• (17:19) - The Final Three Question
• (25:14) - Conclusion

Why what isn’t said can communicate more than what is spoken.

We often speak in hints and half-truths, not because we can’t be direct, but because subtlety protects our relationships. “An awful lot of the time, we don’t just blurt out what we mean,” says Steven Pinker. “We hint, we wink, we beat around the bush — counting on our listener to read between the lines, connect the dots, catch our drift.”
Pinker is the Johnstone Professor of Psychology at Harvard University, a celebrated linguist and cognitive scientist, and the author of twelve influential books. His latest, When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows: Common Knowledge and the Mysteries of Money, Power, and Everyday Life, explores how our shared understanding of awareness — what Steven refers to as common knowledge — and the way we signal it, governs everything from friendships to authority to negotiations. “Common knowledge is what ratifies or annuls social relationships, and that's why blurting something out that contradicts the assumptions of the relationship can blow everything up and be deeply awkward.”
In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, Pinker joins host Matt Abrahams to discuss why humans lean on innuendo, euphemism, and strategic ambiguity. They examine how culture and context shape what we hear, why our social fabric depends on more than just literal meaning, and offer practical ways to refine our communication by paying attention not just to what we say, but to what others know we know.

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

Episode Reference Links:

• Steven Pinker
• Steven’s Book: When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows
• Ep.91 Um, Like, So: How Filler Words Can Create More Connected, Effective Communication
• Ep.225 Speaking Fluent Internet: How Algorithms Are Changing the Way We Speak

Connect:

• Premium Signup >>>> Think Fast Talk Smart Premium
• Email Questions & Feedback >>> hello@fastersmarter.io
• Episode Transcripts >>> Think Fast Talk Smart Website
• Newsletter Signup + English Language Learning >>> FasterSmarter.io
• Think Fast Talk Smart >>> LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube
• Matt Abrahams >>> LinkedIn

Chapters:

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (01:51) - Why We Speak Indirectly
• (06:07) - The Role of Context
• (10:03) - Cross-Cultural Perspectives
• (11:19) - Hypocrisy as Social Glue
• (13:11) - Clarity, Conciseness, & Grace
• (16:35) - Metaphors We Live By
• (19:34) - The Final Three Questions
• (23:30) - Conclusion

*****
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Transform how you communicate with tools that make your message stick.

Clear communication isn’t just about sharing information — it’s about making ideas stick. That’s why Yuhki Yamashita, Chief Product Officer at Figma, believes the key to effective collaboration lies in turning complex concepts into simple, memorable visuals.
For years, Figma has been reshaping the way teams brainstorm, design, and build together — making it easier than ever to bring ideas to life in real time. In this episode of the Think Fast, Talk Smart Tech Tools miniseries, host Matt Abrahams talks with Yamashita about how visuals facilitate shared understanding, why frameworks enhance team communication, and how to craft insights that people naturally remember and reuse.
In addition to insight-packed discussions, this miniseries explores innovative tools that enhance the way we communicate and connect. Whether you want to make your presentations more memorable, craft stories that stick, or connect with your audience on a deeper level, these episodes will help you communicate with greater clarity, confidence, and impact.

Episode Reference Links:

• Yuhki Yamashita
• Ep.227 Tech Tools: Move Your Audience By Moving Through Your Presentation

Connect:

• Premium Signup >>>> Think Fast Talk Smart Premium
• Email Questions & Feedback >>> hello@fastersmarter.io
• Episode Transcripts >>> Think Fast Talk Smart Website
• Newsletter Signup + English Language Learning >>> FasterSmarter.io
• Think Fast Talk Smart >>> LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube
• Matt Abrahams >>> LinkedIn

Chapters:

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (01:16) - Figma Elevator Structure
• (02:07) - Joining Figma
• (03:17) - The Power of Visual Storytelling
• (04:36) - Creating Shared Meaning with Visuals
• (05:37) - Favorite Communicator
• (08:59) - Communication Hack or Tool
• (10:36) - Conclusion

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