299. Choose The Right Channel: How Stanford Finds Its Voice

WEBVTT

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Matt Abrahams: In today's world,
communication is all about

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juggling multiple priorities.

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With focus and intention,
you can be successful.

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My name is Matt Abrahams, and I
teach Strategic Communication at

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Stanford Graduate School of Business.

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Welcome to Think Fast,
Talk Smart, the podcast.

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Today, I am very excited to chat with
my colleague and friend, Farnaz Khadem.

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Farnaz is the Vice President of
University Communications at Stanford,

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where she oversees the institution's
global media relations, digital

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strategy, and internal communications.

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Prior to Stanford, Farnaz
served as the Vice President

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of Communication at Caltech.

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Her background includes public
service with the US Department of

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State as a foreign service officer.

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Well, welcome, Farnaz.

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Thanks for being here.

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I look forward to continuing our
coffee chats so everybody can hear.

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Farnaz Khadem: Yeah.

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Thanks for having me, Matt.

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I'm really actually happy to be here.

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You and I have been talking for
a long time about this and having

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some great conversations, and it's
nice to bring it to this forum.

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Matt Abrahams: Excellent.

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I agree.

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Shall we get started?

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Farnaz Khadem: Absolutely.

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Matt Abrahams: So to begin, your team is
involved in many types of communication.

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Do you have some overarching
principle that guides how you

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see effective communication?

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Farnaz Khadem: First, let me
tell you that as a communicator,

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I like to think in threes.

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You think in threes, you talk in threes,
you remember it, other people remember it.

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So I'll tell you the three things.

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First is just know your goal.

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Communications is about what is
it you're trying to get across.

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And if you don't know what that
goal is as an individual or an

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organization, you're just, you're
not gonna be able to do anything.

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Second is know your audience.

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That's the other thing that people don't
always think about is you gotta really

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be thinking about who you're talking to.

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And the third is know your data.

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I think we're gonna probably
talk a lot about listening today.

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So much of communications is
about listening and not talking,

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and data is the way you listen.

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I mean, when you work in an organization
like this, you are constantly having to go

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back and see what worked and what didn't.

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So if you don't know your data,
you don't know your audience,

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you don't know your goal.

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So it's all kind of a circle.

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So those are really our overarching
principles when we think about this.

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Matt Abrahams: Absolutely.

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Have to have a clear goal.

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We talk a lot about goals.

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The understanding your audience, and
I wanna talk about audiences 'cause

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you have many that you have to serve.

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And then this notion of reflecting,
using data to understand what works,

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what doesn't work, how do we craft
that message, really important.

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A lot of people just see the goal of
communication as getting information

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out, but it's really how does it land,
and you've captured that in those three.

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You also have to traverse a
wide variety of channels, right?

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Social, there's written,
magazines, newspapers.

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How do you think that landscape is
changing, and are there certain messages

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that are better for certain channels?

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That seems to be another big
variable you have to deal with.

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Farnaz Khadem: It's such a
good question, and it is such

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a conundrum right now, right?

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Because the exponential increase
of channels is phenomenal.

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The noise out there, the cacophony, right?

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People are overwhelmed with information,
and so most things don't even get through

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because there's just too much out there.

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So I think part of the
testing is exactly that.

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You look back to the audiences, right?

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We know that some audiences
prefer things in short bursts.

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They want video.

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They prefer Instagram.

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The shorter, the better.

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We look a lot at, like, national
polls, too, or international polls.

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Like Pew says that half of people right
now get their news from social media.

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I mean, that's phenomenal.

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So if that's a place where we need to push
out more news, we try to do that that way.

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Longform still has a place, right?

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Longform writing, stories, they're still
really important, but people aren't

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gonna read 2,000-word stories anymore.

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Very rarely are they gonna do that.

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So one of the things we do as a team is
we sit down and let's say we have a story,

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we actually go through that exact process.

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We say, "Okay, is this better as
a short piece in writing, maybe

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with an accompanying video, and
maybe even with a media pitch?"

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Like, we have media relations.

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We have really strong people
who talk to journalists.

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And sometimes people don't need
to hear it directly from us.

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We're actually better off sharing
it with the media, who will

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then share it with the public.

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And so we go through that
on almost every story.

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Matt Abrahams: I think that's a big lesson
for people to take away is that it's not

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just the information, but you really have
to think about the channel, and maybe it's

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a multi-channel approach for the story.

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And sometimes it might be not your
organization, but helping other

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organizations amplify and send that out.

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That's useful for people to think about.

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One of the other things I'm super
impressed with that I think others who

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aren't in a university setting who have
some comms responsibility is you'll pull

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people together from different areas
who all do communication work and have

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them share best practices, have them
learn from each other, really empowering

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and enabling them, not just through the
people process and infrastructure that you

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talked about, but by actually having them
engage with each other to feel supported.

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'Cause it can be lonely if you're
a single comms person sitting out

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there, you know, in some corporation.

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But being connected can be really helpful.

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Farnaz Khadem: We have so many great
people doing communications for

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organizations around the university,
but a lot of them are one-person shops,

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and so they're, to your point, lonely.

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They may not have as much
knowledge about what's happening.

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They don't have an ecosystem.

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They don't have that connection,
that connective tissue.

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And so we thought mentorship is
another great way to do that,

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exactly for the reasons you said.

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Matt Abrahams: So related to
mentorship, I wanna talk tangentially

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about a lot of what your team does
is equip people to communicate who

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aren't naturally communicators.

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I'm thinking of academics or
staff people working in a lab.

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Do you have best practices that you've
observed either in the work you've

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done or your people have done to help
somebody who might not be experienced

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as a communicator, who, for whatever
reason, is in a position to communicate?

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Maybe they've discovered something
new, or they've got some expertise

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that's being pulled to the fore.

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How do you help people be better
communicators as a coach, as a guide?

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Farnaz Khadem: This is one of my
favorite things to do in communications.

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You know, I've been doing this work
off and on for decades, and one of

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the best things you can do is help
people, because even just a few

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tips takes people such a long way.

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One of the misconceptions that I have
to tell you about communications is

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we all think everybody can do it.

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We all went to school.

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We can all write.

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We can all read.

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We can all speak, and therefore we
think communications means just that.

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And communications, if you do it
well, is an art, and not everybody,

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to your point, can do that, right?

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And so we actually do.

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We offer that kind of training to
faculty, to staff, to others, and it's

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as simple as, I mentioned I started out
talking about the rule of three, right?

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You have three things that you
wanna communicate and think about.

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And you just tell people even something
like that, "Come up with your top

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three things that you wanna say,"
and that's life-changing for them.

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They think about that, they process,
and then they are able to more

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clearly communicate their thoughts.

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We can help people on camera.

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We can put them in front of a video
camera and then help them see how they

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come across when they're communicating.

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We talk to them about their work and kind
of walk them through how to explain that

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in a way that is understandable because a
lot of people are very good at being able

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to explain their work in the way that they
understand it, but not necessarily in the

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way that other people would understand it.

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So there's a lot of things that
we can do along those lines that

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we really actually enjoy doing.

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We think it's a big part of our job.

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Matt Abrahams: I love that
you gave three examples.

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And people might not know this, but
one of the reasons that the leadership

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at the business school, but also you
in your position, were supportive

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of this podcast as it started is it,
it gave an opportunity for faculty

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to practice, to get out there,
to be sharing their information.

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Because part of it, as you said when you
talked about recording people, it's one

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thing to understand how to do it, it's
one thing to know your message, it's

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another thing to get the reps in doing it.

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And so I think it's great that
you help people in all those ways.

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Uh, in your various roles that
you've held, especially here, you've

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had to deal with public crises.

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What advice do you have for our listeners
who have to deal with challenges, perhaps

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not on the scale that you have had to?

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Farnaz Khadem: So it's such
an interesting question, Matt.

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I don't know if I would've started
out my career, or even told you a

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decade ago, that crisis would be one
of the things I would do most and I

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would spend so much time on, or that
I would enjoy, because I don't think

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anybody can say they enjoy a crisis.

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But in some ways, it's one of the
most interesting parts of doing

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communications for an organization.

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So one of the things I've really
loved doing the last few years

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in particular is going out and
teaching about how to do crisis.

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And so maybe some of what I'll share
is a little bit of what I say in

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these courses or talks that I give.

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You know, Benjamin Franklin said,
"By failing to prepare, you prepare

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to fail." If no one ever takes away
anything else having to do with

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communications, I hope they remember that.

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The most important thing to do in a crisis
is just to have prepared in advance.

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So what does that mean?

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Think about what are your top things
that could go wrong in your particular

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job, in your particular organization.

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What are the top five scenarios of
what kind of crisis you can have?

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And they're different, right?

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What could happen at a university could
be very different than in a business,

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or even in someone's personal life.

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What are the things that could happen?

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And then you try to plan around those.

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Do you have the right tools?

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If you're in an organization,
do you have the right people?

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Do you know who's supposed to do what?

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Do you know roles and responsibilities?

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And so that whole process of actually
thinking through what could go wrong and

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putting in place the tools and resources
you need to address it is bar none

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the most important thing you can do.

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Matt Abrahams: Excellent.

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So beyond preparation, what are some
things you advise, let's say a crisis

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does erupt and you have to now communicate
internally, externally, what do you teach

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on how to handle that step in the process?

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Farnaz Khadem: I mean, I think there's a
lot of different things you have to think

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about at that point of what do you do.

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I think one is that it, it really
ultimately when you're in a crisis,

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truth and transparency are paramount.

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People want to know what
is actually happening.

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And if what is happening is you don't
know what is happening, you have to tell

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people you don't know what is happening.

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So don't assume you have to know
everything before you communicate.

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You just have to communicate
and tell people what you know.

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Be truthful, be transparent.

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Second is in today's world with how fast
things are moving, and as we talked about

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the multiple channels and, for example,
how quickly information moves on social,

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you have to do it early and often.

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So I think the days where you could wait
an hour or two to communicate something,

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or a day or two in a crisis are long gone.

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And then you have to do it regularly
over and over and over again.

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Again, even if you don't
know what is happening.

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Those are, like, two of the main
things that I talk about when I talk

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about how to communicate in a crisis.

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The thing I always end with to tell
people is forgive yourself, because

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here's what's gonna happen in a crisis.

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It is going to be the fog of war.

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No matter how much you have practiced,
no matter how much you have prepared,

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it's not gonna go as you think it will.

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The preparation will help you,
obviously, because then you are better

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able to manage those curve balls.

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You're not spending time on the basics.

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You're spending time on trying
to manage how things are going.

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But in the end, it's not gonna
go exactly as you anticipate.

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Things are gonna go wrong, and a lot
of people beat themselves up for that.

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And I think that's the one thing
is forgive yourself, go back, do

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that learning, incorporate those
learnings for the next time, and just

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know that's the way a crisis works.

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Matt Abrahams: I love the idea that
you're doing reflection, a postmortem

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to learn, giving yourself grace to
understand that it's not gonna go

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perfectly, and there might be things
that go wrong, but we can learn from it.

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And yet again, you didn't disappoint.

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Three T's: truth, transparency,
and I'm gonna add timeliness.

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I'd like to get your insight
into what makes for a good story.

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Now, I know it depends on the audience,
but are there certain elements

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that you like to see in stories?

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Is there, for example, it has to
have some emotional appeal, or

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there has to be something vivid?

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For you, what makes for a good story?

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Farnaz Khadem: So I love that question
because there's so much focus right now

00:11:40.353 --> 00:11:44.743
in the age of AI on storytelling, right?

00:11:44.743 --> 00:11:48.704
So you're seeing articles and
headlines all the time about what is

00:11:48.704 --> 00:11:52.383
good storytelling, what is the room
for storytelling in the world of

00:11:52.383 --> 00:11:54.353
artificial intelligence, and so forth.

00:11:54.613 --> 00:11:57.434
There are many elements, I
think, to telling a good story.

00:11:57.694 --> 00:12:00.383
For me personally, I think the
single most important thing is

00:12:00.383 --> 00:12:01.623
does it create a connection?

00:12:01.914 --> 00:12:06.283
And ultimately, a connection is
usually about something personal.

00:12:06.664 --> 00:12:08.454
You can be a great speaker.

00:12:08.753 --> 00:12:12.243
When I think about TED Talks, what
are the ones that really resonate?

00:12:12.303 --> 00:12:17.013
It's when somebody gets up and they are
vulnerable, and they share something

00:12:17.084 --> 00:12:21.964
about themselves and their background
and who they are, and all of a sudden

00:12:21.964 --> 00:12:23.843
that connection is made, human to human.

00:12:24.123 --> 00:12:26.343
And that is the essence of a great story.

00:12:26.343 --> 00:12:28.863
And I think all the other things
are really important, and I see

00:12:28.863 --> 00:12:30.003
it in my own personal life, right?

00:12:30.023 --> 00:12:35.074
Anytime I'm talking to someone, whether
it's one-on-one or I'm giving a talk or

00:12:35.074 --> 00:12:39.723
I'm somewhere else, when I share something
about my background, how something in my

00:12:39.723 --> 00:12:45.694
life taught me a lesson that brought me to
where I am, I instantly notice a change.

00:12:45.963 --> 00:12:50.433
And so I think that connection and
that personal nature is absolutely core

00:12:51.192 --> 00:12:53.692
Matt Abrahams: As somebody who
has interacted with you and heard

00:12:53.772 --> 00:12:57.832
the stories you tell, you, you're
very good at connecting and use

00:12:57.842 --> 00:12:58.982
several techniques to do it.

00:12:58.982 --> 00:13:02.632
You like to use analogies, you like to use
descriptive language, and there are a lot

00:13:02.632 --> 00:13:04.871
of tools that can enable that connection.

00:13:05.172 --> 00:13:07.432
But I agree, it, it
boils down to connection.

00:13:07.791 --> 00:13:09.082
And you alluded to AI.

00:13:10.112 --> 00:13:12.552
AI is impacting communication
all over the place.

00:13:12.552 --> 00:13:17.412
As somebody who runs a communication
organization, what is your approach

00:13:17.522 --> 00:13:22.902
to using AI to help and also being
concerned about some of the problems

00:13:22.902 --> 00:13:27.062
that come with people who use AI in
terms of hallucinations and other things?

00:13:27.571 --> 00:13:30.372
How are you approaching that, and what
guidance are you giving your team?

00:13:30.692 --> 00:13:30.972
Farnaz Khadem: Yeah.

00:13:30.972 --> 00:13:33.072
So we spend a lot of
time talking about AI.

00:13:33.102 --> 00:13:37.972
I believe very strongly in moderation
in all things, and that carries over

00:13:37.972 --> 00:13:41.402
for me into the workplace, and AI
is a really good example of this.

00:13:41.592 --> 00:13:45.891
So we're really approaching it in a much
more moderated and methodical fashion.

00:13:45.891 --> 00:13:49.482
Every person in the university
communications team at Stanford

00:13:49.502 --> 00:13:50.792
has to have an AI goal.

00:13:51.082 --> 00:13:53.032
That was something that I said
at the beginning of this year.

00:13:53.432 --> 00:13:58.952
But what that means is very different from
person to person and from team to team.

00:13:59.172 --> 00:14:03.401
For some people, that may be my goal
is I'm going to take a class and try to

00:14:03.402 --> 00:14:05.062
understand better how to write prompts.

00:14:05.322 --> 00:14:09.682
For someone else, it might be more of
an incorporation into their daily work.

00:14:10.122 --> 00:14:12.762
And I largely let the team know.

00:14:12.762 --> 00:14:16.282
I said, "I want you to do this for
you, not so much even for me, for

00:14:16.282 --> 00:14:20.701
the institution." I think that having
familiarity with these tools is

00:14:20.702 --> 00:14:24.442
gonna be so important for the next
generation of people in communications,

00:14:24.492 --> 00:14:29.492
and so I think it's incumbent on me
to help them learn how to use it.

00:14:30.012 --> 00:14:34.042
And there are some really great things
that we can and are using AI for.

00:14:34.102 --> 00:14:37.472
It certainly can make a lot of
processes easier, whether it be in the

00:14:37.472 --> 00:14:39.212
writing or editing phase or so forth.

00:14:39.232 --> 00:14:43.132
We can use it, and we're thinking
about more how to use it for targeting

00:14:43.132 --> 00:14:47.051
particular audiences, 'cause I think
AI can do a lot to help us find the

00:14:47.052 --> 00:14:48.832
right audiences for our messages.

00:14:49.091 --> 00:14:52.192
But then to the flip side of what
you asked about, there are a lot of

00:14:52.202 --> 00:14:56.612
problems too that can come with that if
people rush to try to do it too much.

00:14:56.862 --> 00:15:00.162
So the other thing we did is we worked
with actually some great faculty and

00:15:00.162 --> 00:15:03.621
others around the university, and we
created AI guidelines for communicators,

00:15:03.812 --> 00:15:05.462
and these are now publicly available.

00:15:05.531 --> 00:15:08.972
And they're just some basic
common sense things that try to

00:15:08.972 --> 00:15:11.032
address the fact of attribution.

00:15:11.312 --> 00:15:16.632
If you're gonna use AI, don't tell people
you've used AI in some process in this.

00:15:16.842 --> 00:15:19.942
Two is, you know, understand the
hallucinations are real, so make sure you

00:15:19.951 --> 00:15:23.891
have backed up in terms of fact-checking
anything that you have out there.

00:15:24.092 --> 00:15:26.352
And I think that's gotta be, those
two things have to go hand in hand.

00:15:26.662 --> 00:15:28.612
Explore in moderation.

00:15:28.672 --> 00:15:30.012
See how it can help you.

00:15:30.222 --> 00:15:33.992
And on the other side, be careful and make
sure you know where the red lines are.

00:15:34.362 --> 00:15:35.942
Matt Abrahams: Thank you
for summarizing that for us.

00:15:36.012 --> 00:15:40.342
The key takeaway I have from what you
said is just because it's there doesn't

00:15:40.342 --> 00:15:43.382
mean you need to use it, doesn't mean
you need to use it in a specific way.

00:15:43.412 --> 00:15:44.052
I like that.

00:15:44.382 --> 00:15:48.072
And I think all of our colleagues across
the university who are so instrumental

00:15:48.072 --> 00:15:51.832
in advancing AI would be very pleased
with your answer, so that's great too.

00:15:52.832 --> 00:15:54.634
Farnaz, I knew this would
be a great conversation.

00:15:54.634 --> 00:15:56.834
We always have great
conversations when we grab coffee.

00:15:57.123 --> 00:15:59.924
I'd like to end by asking you three
questions, one I'm gonna create

00:15:59.924 --> 00:16:03.024
just for you, and two I've been
asking everybody for a long time.

00:16:03.343 --> 00:16:07.603
We started our talk today
highlighting listening, reflection.

00:16:07.964 --> 00:16:13.264
I'd love for you to share a little bit
of advice on how you try to listen well

00:16:13.264 --> 00:16:16.483
and any advice or guidance you give
others to improve listening skills.

00:16:17.054 --> 00:16:18.154
Farnaz Khadem: I'm gonna share a story.

00:16:18.444 --> 00:16:21.424
I had a lot of great experiences when
I worked as a US diplomat overseas.

00:16:21.424 --> 00:16:23.383
I was incredibly privileged to do so.

00:16:23.634 --> 00:16:26.503
And one of them was to meet
some really phenomenal people.

00:16:26.634 --> 00:16:30.794
And when I was serving in Italy, I
had the chance to meet Bill Clinton.

00:16:30.954 --> 00:16:33.504
And one of the great things that people
will talk about Bill Clinton all the

00:16:33.504 --> 00:16:38.164
time is that he is a great communicator,
but one of the reasons that I thought,

00:16:38.184 --> 00:16:43.773
and I saw it firsthand, was when I got
to meet him, is he makes you feel as

00:16:43.774 --> 00:16:48.404
if there is no one else except you,
like he is truly listening to you.

00:16:48.434 --> 00:16:53.324
And I met him in a public forum in
Florence with 1,000 people around us.

00:16:53.613 --> 00:16:58.264
But in that 20 seconds, I felt
like I was the only person.

00:16:58.304 --> 00:16:59.873
There was a real connection there.

00:17:00.233 --> 00:17:01.703
Not all of us can be Bill Clinton.

00:17:01.973 --> 00:17:05.473
But I felt very much
that taught me something.

00:17:05.964 --> 00:17:10.394
If your attention is fully on someone,
you're not multitasking, you're not

00:17:10.394 --> 00:17:13.033
looking over to the right, you're
not doing something else, but you

00:17:13.033 --> 00:17:17.023
actually look like you're listening
to someone, that can go a long way.

00:17:17.163 --> 00:17:20.213
And that one very short interaction
taught me a lot years ago.

00:17:20.753 --> 00:17:23.763
Matt Abrahams: Yeah, paying attention
and then having the intention to

00:17:23.763 --> 00:17:25.753
really connect makes a big difference.

00:17:25.753 --> 00:17:29.984
And regardless of what you think of
his politics, he is very well known for

00:17:29.984 --> 00:17:31.874
that ability to connect and to listen.

00:17:32.424 --> 00:17:36.243
Question two, who is a communicator
that you admire, and why?

00:17:36.563 --> 00:17:38.384
Farnaz Khadem: See, I thought that
question might come 'cause I'm a

00:17:38.464 --> 00:17:40.894
longtime listener to your podcast.

00:17:41.094 --> 00:17:44.522
And I'm gonna be a little contrarian,
and I'll tell you why I think one

00:17:44.522 --> 00:17:47.462
of the things that we've talked
about here, communications has

00:17:47.462 --> 00:17:48.841
so many different facets, right?

00:17:48.841 --> 00:17:52.372
You gotta be a good listener, you
gotta be able to be clear, you gotta

00:17:52.372 --> 00:17:53.811
be passionate about your topic.

00:17:54.152 --> 00:17:57.512
Different people have different
strengths, and it's hard for me to think

00:17:57.522 --> 00:18:00.382
about one person who has all of that.

00:18:00.652 --> 00:18:04.331
So we just talked about Bill Clinton
and his ability to listen and connect.

00:18:04.622 --> 00:18:07.812
If you look at someone, let's
say like an Oprah Winfrey, she's

00:18:07.822 --> 00:18:12.382
fabulous at warmth, and that is a
really important part of connection.

00:18:12.841 --> 00:18:17.502
I spent many years doing technical
or science communications, but

00:18:17.502 --> 00:18:21.232
when I look at somebody like a Neil
deGrasse Tyson or a Bill Nye, their

00:18:21.232 --> 00:18:24.662
ability to simplify is their strength.

00:18:25.072 --> 00:18:28.801
So it feels to me like you can take little
pieces and parts of everybody out there,

00:18:28.802 --> 00:18:32.392
like the things that really matter to
you, and say, "I want a little bit of this

00:18:32.432 --> 00:18:35.751
and a little bit of that and a little bit
of that," and so no one person has that.

00:18:35.772 --> 00:18:37.091
I love a little piece of all of them.

00:18:37.541 --> 00:18:40.162
Matt Abrahams: So I will accept
your heresy, because what you

00:18:40.162 --> 00:18:42.652
just shared in your response is
the purpose of this question.

00:18:42.662 --> 00:18:46.252
It's really to look behind what
makes for good communicators, and

00:18:46.252 --> 00:18:47.872
you did a nice job of delineating it.

00:18:48.132 --> 00:18:50.682
But I'm gonna give you an
opportunity in our final question

00:18:50.682 --> 00:18:55.351
to give three key ingredients for
a successful communication recipe.

00:18:55.351 --> 00:18:57.492
What are the most essential
from your perspective?

00:18:57.902 --> 00:18:59.272
Farnaz Khadem: Thank you
for asking in threes.

00:18:59.822 --> 00:19:04.312
The three things that I think are very
much a reflection of some of the things

00:19:04.312 --> 00:19:05.391
we've already talked about, right?

00:19:05.441 --> 00:19:08.512
One is know your goal and your audience.

00:19:08.552 --> 00:19:11.101
You gotta know what you're
trying to communicate and who

00:19:11.101 --> 00:19:12.161
you're trying to communicate to.

00:19:12.461 --> 00:19:14.482
Two, we just finished
talking about it, listening.

00:19:14.791 --> 00:19:16.651
Are you a good listener?

00:19:17.021 --> 00:19:18.631
Do you do active listening?

00:19:18.901 --> 00:19:22.161
Have you spent your time actually thinking
about what the other person has said

00:19:22.411 --> 00:19:25.992
as opposed to trying to be the one to
think ahead to what you're going to say?

00:19:26.501 --> 00:19:28.671
On the third point, I'm
gonna diverge a little bit.

00:19:28.681 --> 00:19:32.641
I'm gonna say if you're an individual,
you're doing it as a person versus as

00:19:32.641 --> 00:19:34.302
someone representing an organization.

00:19:34.651 --> 00:19:39.002
As a person, I think people hear
this, but they do not always

00:19:39.212 --> 00:19:43.032
appreciate just how much nonverbal
communication matters, right?

00:19:43.341 --> 00:19:48.841
So how much your eye contact,
your smile, your body language,

00:19:48.861 --> 00:19:51.131
your gestures make a difference.

00:19:51.131 --> 00:19:53.522
And so be thoughtful and
be intentional about that.

00:19:53.911 --> 00:19:57.611
In an organization, if you're representing
an organization for good communications,

00:19:58.062 --> 00:20:02.051
I had a great boss once who said, "Farnaz,
a big part of your job is to educate your

00:20:02.052 --> 00:20:06.021
bosses. You think people know the same
things you do. They don't know the same

00:20:06.022 --> 00:20:11.091
things you do." So effective communication
is to make sure that those who are

00:20:11.091 --> 00:20:13.492
decision makers around you are educated.

00:20:13.812 --> 00:20:16.881
They know what you know, and that
will lead to good communications

00:20:16.881 --> 00:20:18.222
outcomes for an organization.

00:20:18.651 --> 00:20:19.052
Matt Abrahams: Wow.

00:20:19.131 --> 00:20:19.482
Okay.

00:20:19.482 --> 00:20:20.131
Lots there.

00:20:20.161 --> 00:20:24.562
So goal-based, focusing on your audience,
listening, reflecting, absolutely key.

00:20:24.881 --> 00:20:26.331
We've heard some of that before.

00:20:26.601 --> 00:20:28.452
The importance of nonverbals.

00:20:28.461 --> 00:20:31.732
It's not just the message, but
how the message comes across.

00:20:32.151 --> 00:20:36.671
And then your job is to make sure
that those you're speaking to, be

00:20:36.671 --> 00:20:40.601
they your bosses, your peers, have the
information they need to be successful.

00:20:40.601 --> 00:20:44.581
So the goal of communication is to
educate, which certainly doesn't

00:20:44.581 --> 00:20:48.242
surprise me given the role that you
have as head of comms at a university.

00:20:48.681 --> 00:20:49.841
Farnaz, this was fantastic.

00:20:49.871 --> 00:20:54.391
Lots of key takeaways from lots of
different areas of communication, from

00:20:54.391 --> 00:20:57.861
how we can be better ourselves, how we
can better our organizations, how we can

00:20:57.861 --> 00:20:59.841
handle crises, how we can deal with AI.

00:21:00.181 --> 00:21:02.181
Thank you so much for your
insight, and thanks for joining.

00:21:02.442 --> 00:21:03.442
Farnaz Khadem: Thank you for having me.

00:21:03.442 --> 00:21:04.621
That was a lot of fun, Matt.

00:21:06.838 --> 00:21:08.788
Matt Abrahams: Thank you for joining
us for another episode of Think

00:21:08.788 --> 00:21:10.378
Fast, Talk Smart, the podcast.

00:21:10.808 --> 00:21:14.088
To learn more about communication
leadership and crisis management, please

00:21:14.088 --> 00:21:16.438
listen to episode 22 with David Demarest.

00:21:16.758 --> 00:21:21.347
This episode was produced by Katherine
Reed, Ryan Campos, and me, Matt Abrahams.

00:21:21.668 --> 00:21:25.307
Our music is from Floyd Wonder, with
thanks to Podium Podcast Company.

00:21:25.568 --> 00:21:28.368
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