Matt Abrahams

In other words, the goal in improv is not to be an amazing star with everything you say. Instead, the job is to just get things going, keep things moving along. And sometimes the best way to do that is just to do it, be dull. So I've transformed that into what I call maximize your mediocrity. And I teach at Stanford. I teach Stanford Business School students.

So I'm going to give advice that I give to people when I talk about small talk, because what you're asking about is really touching on the same issue. The single best thing you can do in small talk, when you're meeting people you don't know, or you don't feel that you are at the same level they are, is just be curious. We have this pressure we put on ourselves to be interesting.

So I'm going to give advice that I give to people when I talk about small talk, because what you're asking about is really touching on the same issue. The single best thing you can do in small talk, when you're meeting people you don't know, or you don't feel that you are at the same level they are, is just be curious. We have this pressure we put on ourselves to be interesting.

So I'm going to give advice that I give to people when I talk about small talk, because what you're asking about is really touching on the same issue. The single best thing you can do in small talk, when you're meeting people you don't know, or you don't feel that you are at the same level they are, is just be curious. We have this pressure we put on ourselves to be interesting.

So I'm going to give advice that I give to people when I talk about small talk, because what you're asking about is really touching on the same issue. The single best thing you can do in small talk, when you're meeting people you don't know, or you don't feel that you are at the same level they are, is just be curious. We have this pressure we put on ourselves to be interesting.

So I'm going to give advice that I give to people when I talk about small talk, because what you're asking about is really touching on the same issue. The single best thing you can do in small talk, when you're meeting people you don't know, or you don't feel that you are at the same level they are, is just be curious. We have this pressure we put on ourselves to be interesting.

And I start my first class every quarter by saying, the goal of this class is to maximize your mediocrity. And Hala, you should see these students' jaws drop. They have never been told to be mediocre. But the point is this, if you think of your brain like a computer, it's not a perfect analogy, but it works for this.

And I start my first class every quarter by saying, the goal of this class is to maximize your mediocrity. And Hala, you should see these students' jaws drop. They have never been told to be mediocre. But the point is this, if you think of your brain like a computer, it's not a perfect analogy, but it works for this.

And I start my first class every quarter by saying, the goal of this class is to maximize your mediocrity. And Hala, you should see these students' jaws drop. They have never been told to be mediocre. But the point is this, if you think of your brain like a computer, it's not a perfect analogy, but it works for this.

And I start my first class every quarter by saying, the goal of this class is to maximize your mediocrity. And Hala, you should see these students' jaws drop. They have never been told to be mediocre. But the point is this, if you think of your brain like a computer, it's not a perfect analogy, but it works for this.

And I start my first class every quarter by saying, the goal of this class is to maximize your mediocrity. And Hala, you should see these students' jaws drop. They have never been told to be mediocre. But the point is this, if you think of your brain like a computer, it's not a perfect analogy, but it works for this.

And I think what's most important, and I learned this from a guest on my podcast, Think Fast, Talk Smart, her name's Rachel Greenwald. She taught me this notion of the goal is to be interested, not interesting. So lead with curiosity. You don't have to know everything. But be curious. And when you're curious, others will open up and share.

And I think what's most important, and I learned this from a guest on my podcast, Think Fast, Talk Smart, her name's Rachel Greenwald. She taught me this notion of the goal is to be interested, not interesting. So lead with curiosity. You don't have to know everything. But be curious. And when you're curious, others will open up and share.

And I think what's most important, and I learned this from a guest on my podcast, Think Fast, Talk Smart, her name's Rachel Greenwald. She taught me this notion of the goal is to be interested, not interesting. So lead with curiosity. You don't have to know everything. But be curious. And when you're curious, others will open up and share.

And I think what's most important, and I learned this from a guest on my podcast, Think Fast, Talk Smart, her name's Rachel Greenwald. She taught me this notion of the goal is to be interested, not interesting. So lead with curiosity. You don't have to know everything. But be curious. And when you're curious, others will open up and share.

And I think what's most important, and I learned this from a guest on my podcast, Think Fast, Talk Smart, her name's Rachel Greenwald. She taught me this notion of the goal is to be interested, not interesting. So lead with curiosity. You don't have to know everything. But be curious. And when you're curious, others will open up and share.

If you have a laptop or a phone that has lots of apps or windows open, each one of those apps and windows is performing less well because the other ones are open. You have limited bandwidth and you're spreading it thin. When I am putting pressure on myself to say the right thing in the right way at the right time to be perfect, I am actually putting so much pressure on myself.

If you have a laptop or a phone that has lots of apps or windows open, each one of those apps and windows is performing less well because the other ones are open. You have limited bandwidth and you're spreading it thin. When I am putting pressure on myself to say the right thing in the right way at the right time to be perfect, I am actually putting so much pressure on myself.

If you have a laptop or a phone that has lots of apps or windows open, each one of those apps and windows is performing less well because the other ones are open. You have limited bandwidth and you're spreading it thin. When I am putting pressure on myself to say the right thing in the right way at the right time to be perfect, I am actually putting so much pressure on myself.

If you have a laptop or a phone that has lots of apps or windows open, each one of those apps and windows is performing less well because the other ones are open. You have limited bandwidth and you're spreading it thin. When I am putting pressure on myself to say the right thing in the right way at the right time to be perfect, I am actually putting so much pressure on myself.