Matt Abrahams

Well, first and foremost, people are really anxious, especially in high-stakes speaking situations. So anxiety and learning to feel more confident is number one. And then number two, the big mistake people make is they just don't focus their messages, focus on their audience, make it concise, make it clear, interesting, and engaging.

Well, first and foremost, people are really anxious, especially in high-stakes speaking situations. So anxiety and learning to feel more confident is number one. And then number two, the big mistake people make is they just don't focus their messages, focus on their audience, make it concise, make it clear, interesting, and engaging.

So when I work with people in the classes I teach at Stanford or in the coaching I do, it's really around those elements.

So when I work with people in the classes I teach at Stanford or in the coaching I do, it's really around those elements.

So when I work with people in the classes I teach at Stanford or in the coaching I do, it's really around those elements.

Yeah. So you hit it on the head. It's part of being human to be concerned about being up in front of other people. We see it in every culture that's been studied. It tends to start around the same time, right? As kids are entering their early teens is where we really see spikes in anxiety. And this spans culture.

Yeah. So you hit it on the head. It's part of being human to be concerned about being up in front of other people. We see it in every culture that's been studied. It tends to start around the same time, right? As kids are entering their early teens is where we really see spikes in anxiety. And this spans culture.

Yeah. So you hit it on the head. It's part of being human to be concerned about being up in front of other people. We see it in every culture that's been studied. It tends to start around the same time, right? As kids are entering their early teens is where we really see spikes in anxiety. And this spans culture.

It has to do with status and not the status of who drives the fanciest car, who has the most likes on social media. It's all about your relative status in a group. And as we were evolving, we would hang out in groups of around 150 people. And your status in that group mattered a lot. It meant you got access to resources, reproduction, food, shelter.

It has to do with status and not the status of who drives the fanciest car, who has the most likes on social media. It's all about your relative status in a group. And as we were evolving, we would hang out in groups of around 150 people. And your status in that group mattered a lot. It meant you got access to resources, reproduction, food, shelter.

It has to do with status and not the status of who drives the fanciest car, who has the most likes on social media. It's all about your relative status in a group. And as we were evolving, we would hang out in groups of around 150 people. And your status in that group mattered a lot. It meant you got access to resources, reproduction, food, shelter.

And if your status was low, you didn't have any of that. It was literally a matter of life and death. So it was critical to not do anything that jeopardized your status, like making a mistake or a fool of yourself in front of others. And we carry that with us. Now, Even though it's part of who we are, we can go about doing things to manage that anxiety so we can be successful. Okay.

And if your status was low, you didn't have any of that. It was literally a matter of life and death. So it was critical to not do anything that jeopardized your status, like making a mistake or a fool of yourself in front of others. And we carry that with us. Now, Even though it's part of who we are, we can go about doing things to manage that anxiety so we can be successful. Okay.

And if your status was low, you didn't have any of that. It was literally a matter of life and death. So it was critical to not do anything that jeopardized your status, like making a mistake or a fool of yourself in front of others. And we carry that with us. Now, Even though it's part of who we are, we can go about doing things to manage that anxiety so we can be successful. Okay.

Well, I'd ask you to take a step back and say, what purpose does communication serve? And when you think about that, communication is operationalized empathy and empathy is critical to our species survival. One of the things that differentiates us is the ability to collaborate and connect with other people. And anything that helps us to do that gives us an evolutionary advantage.

Well, I'd ask you to take a step back and say, what purpose does communication serve? And when you think about that, communication is operationalized empathy and empathy is critical to our species survival. One of the things that differentiates us is the ability to collaborate and connect with other people. And anything that helps us to do that gives us an evolutionary advantage.

Well, I'd ask you to take a step back and say, what purpose does communication serve? And when you think about that, communication is operationalized empathy and empathy is critical to our species survival. One of the things that differentiates us is the ability to collaborate and connect with other people. And anything that helps us to do that gives us an evolutionary advantage.

So collaboration, connection are important. Empathy drives that. And there are people who study what I study who would argue that our ability to communicate verbally and non-verbally is the result of that drive towards empathy. So it's solving a problem. So I actually believe that communication is critical for survival. Operationalized empathy.

So collaboration, connection are important. Empathy drives that. And there are people who study what I study who would argue that our ability to communicate verbally and non-verbally is the result of that drive towards empathy. So it's solving a problem. So I actually believe that communication is critical for survival. Operationalized empathy.

So collaboration, connection are important. Empathy drives that. And there are people who study what I study who would argue that our ability to communicate verbally and non-verbally is the result of that drive towards empathy. So it's solving a problem. So I actually believe that communication is critical for survival. Operationalized empathy.