There is often a fundamental disconnect between the way we pitch or try to persuade, and the way it is received by our audience. Understanding how to fix these disconnects is the secret to overcoming them. In his book “Pitch Anything: An Innovative Method for Presenting, Persuading, and Winning the Deal,” venture capitalist Oren Klaff outlines …
The way we handle our everyday thoughts, emotions, and self-stories is the most important factor in our life success. That is the thesis of Susan David’s book “Emotional Agility: Get Unstuck, Embrace Change, and Thrive in Work and Life.” David is a psychologist on the faculty of Harvard Medical School; co-founder and co-director of the …
Failure is inevitable. There’s no way around it. And failure feels bad. When we lose, when we experience setbacks, when we get stuck, that can be frustrating and deflating. But mourning the failure – fast – and moving on is the key. Here’s how: Talk about it with family, friends, and colleagues. While we may …
Great communicators motivate people. They create connections that are genuine, emotional and personal. The best communicators make you feel like they are speaking directly to you. If you want to be really good – if you want to be a better leader – these strategies can take you to new levels of persuasion and leadership: …
Whether we want to or not, most of us need to work to make a living. But a job can be more than just a paycheck and a way to pay the bills. The best jobs make life more meaningful, more valuable, more fun. David Brooks, the New York Times columnist, and Arthur Brooks, the president …
We know that stress and anxiety are bad for overall health. Negative moods are linked to heart disease, cancer and premature death from other problems. Conversely, upbeat moods like joy and contentment are good for you and can minimize the effects of worry. A recent study has isolated one emotion as a potent medicine: awe. The …
My wife, Sarah Jane, cannot stand awkward silences. She feels compelled to fill them and she does it very well. In a social situation this is a perfect reaction. But in a business, especially a sales context, awkward silences are necessary and can be very helpful. What’s the secret to using silence to your advantage? Embrace it. …
We’ve all heard the first rule of bootstrapping and self-sufficiency: you make your own luck. Other versions of this include “the harder I work, the luckier I get” and “luck is the intersection of preparation and opportunity.” The point is there are opportunities that we can’t seem to explain but truly come out of nowhere …
Our brains are programmed to put things off, to delay – to procrastinate. It’s simply easier for our brains to process the friction of the immediate hassle, versus uncertain future benefits. Behavioral scientists call this present bias.Caroline Webb is the author of “How to Have a Good Day: Harness the Power of Behavioral Science to …
As humans we have an innate urge to judge our surroundings and other individuals. It’s a survival instinct that helps us assess safety and risk. While we can never suppress the instinct entirely, there are ways we can control our judgmental communication tendencies. Judgmental communication can shut people down, breed suspicions, and thwart possible solutions. …
