How leaders build a collective identity with Vanessa Beasley

The way leaders communicate can have a big impact on how we see ourselves. Vanessa Beasley is an expert on presidential rhetoric—and the president of Trinity University in San Antonio. In this episode, Adam and Vanessa take a closer look at how rhetoric used by past US presidents has shaped the identity of the American people, and explore some common rhetorical mistakes that leaders make when trying to persuade their audience. They also discuss why so many students are booing commencement speeches on AI, whether listening skills are declining, and how we can improve critical thinking on college campuses.

Featured guest

• Follow Vanessa Beasley on LinkedIn • and at trinity.edu/president/beasley-bio

Connect with the team

• Follow Adam on Instagram • , LinkedIn • , and at adamgrant.net/ • Subscribe to Adam’s Substack Granted • Watch ReThinking videos on YouTube at TEDPods • Follow TED on X • , Instagram • , Facebook • , LinkedIn • , and TikTok ReThinking is produced by Cosmic Standard. Our Senior Producer is Jessica Glazer, our Engineer is Aja Simpson, our Technical Director is Jacob Winik, and our Executive Producer is Eliza Smith.

For the full text transcript, visit ted.com/podcasts/rethinking-with-adam-grant-transcripts

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