Matt Abrahams is a leading expert in communication with decades of experience as an educator, author, podcast host, and coach. As a Lecturer at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, he teaches popular classes in strategic communication and effective virtual presenting. He received Stanford GSB’s Alumni Teaching Award in recognition of his teaching students around the world. Outside of the classroom, Matt is a sought-after keynote speaker and communication consultant. He has helped countless presenters improve and hone their communication, including some who have delivered IPO road shows as well as Nobel Prize, TED, and World Economic Forum presentations. His online talks garner millions of views and he hosts the popular, award-winning podcast Think Fast, Talk Smart The Podcast. His new book Think Faster, Talk Smarter: How to Speak Successfully When You're Put on the Spot provides tangible, actionable skills to help even the most anxious of speakers succeed when speaking spontaneously, such as navigating Q&A sessions, shining in job interviews, providing effective feedback, making small talk, and persuading others. His previous book Speaking Up without Freaking Out: 50 Techniques for Confident and Compelling Presenting has helped thousands of people manage speaking anxiety and present more confidently and authentically.

 

Jordan is a senior at Los Altos High School. She’s an avid horror movie fan, Swiftie, and programmer planning to study political science and computer science in university. School, hobbies, and Taylor Swift: Jordan thinks about things that are privileges to think about. Whether it be rabbits traded for lip gloss manufacturing, monkeys traded for vaccine testing, or even humans traded for national security, in her talk, she explores the hidden tax of the American high school experience, and raises the question: how do we decide the value of each life?

 

Trisha Shetty is a junior at Los Altos High School. For years, she has been interested in the issues surrounding mental health and tackling the associated stigma. In her talk, she dives deeper into one of the barriers to receiving adequate help: the nationwide shortage of mental health professionals.

 

Sam is a Los Altos High School senior and is currently a Campus Captain and Chapter President for The Hidden Opponent, a national nonprofit dedicated to breaking the stigma surrounding student-athlete mental health. He’s run Cross Country for all four years of high school and captained the team during his junior and senior years. Sreyas is a junior at Los Altos High and currently runs in both Track & Field and Cross Country. He joined Track his freshman year and grew to love and appreciate the sport during his sophomore cross-country season. He is also an officer at The Hidden Opponent.