The Founder's Foyer with Aishwarya: Strategic communication, purpose of listening, speaking as a sport

Ft. Matt Abrahams, Lecturer at Stanford University, Podcaster. Matt and Aishwarya chat about how communication can be used as a superpower, processing through feedback, learning to listen, and more

Aishwarya Ashok

Feb 26, 2023

Hey everyone,

Here’s this week’s update from The Founder’s Foyer:

When was the last time you tried explaining an idea to your friend, co-founder, or teammate? Of course, it happens quite frequently for most of us, but looking back at the experience, at certain instances we spent more time explaining so the other person understands it better. Also there are times when they immediately vibe with us. So what exactly is the purpose of communication? Especially from the context of clarity, brevity, and impact.

Matt Abrahams is a lecturer at Stanford GSB, wherein he teaches entrepreneurial minds about organizational behavior, strategic communication, cognitive planning, and persuasion. Matt also runs the “Think Fast, Talk Smart” podcast wherein he hosts guests and discusses everything around maximizing the effectiveness around communication. Prior to teaching, Matt held senior leadership positions in several leading software companies, where he created and ran global learning and development teams.

In this video, Matt brings the concept of MVC—minimum viable communication, similar to the product design concept of MVP. He cites how explaining a concept and getting better at doing that is an iterative process and the goal is always to learn at every step. Through this, everyday interactions with teammates and acquaintances can get better as well.

TFF Chat: Matt x Aishwarya