Introverts are notorious for hating small talk. I used to be one of them. I avoided small talk, and situations where I would need to partake in it. I preferred to focus on important discussions about things that mattered to me: philosophy and metaphysics, culture, psychology, business, economics, etc. In other words, heavy and fascinating … Read more
CareerCup shows people’s self-reported compensations in a variety of different jobs and companies. We can directly compare the compensation for people with similar backgrounds and experience levels. The differences are telling. And we can imagine that for two people in the same or similar job with different levels of compensation, negotiation played a role. For example, … Read more
We’ve known for years that the vast majority of job openings are never advertised. The number of jobs filled through networking alone is probably 70-80% or more. At first this seems like a huge problem for a typical job seeker. Whatever you see on a job site is a very limited fraction of the total … Read more
Leadership is a matter of intelligence, trustworthiness, humaneness, courage, and discipline … Reliance on intelligence alone results in rebelliousness. Exercise of humaneness alone results in weakness. Fixation on trust results in folly. Dependence on the strength of courage results in violence. Excessive discipline and sternness in command result in cruelty. When one has all five … Read more
Jonathan and Thomas both have a great idea for their companies. Jonathan works at a multi-million dollar firm, and so does Thomas. They are equally qualified and talented. They both give their proposal to senior team members at the same time of the fiscal year. They both speak to the key decision-maker, who is equally … Read more
When we first start speaking in public, we have a desire to be reassured by the audience. We subconsciously look for positive reactions from the crowd to signal that we are doing a good job. But if you think about, while this is understandable (we’re nervous and anxious and looking for reassurance), it’s unrealistic. Just … Read more
How to Interrupt in a Positive and Effective Way A client of mine is working on her networking skills. She recently mentioned she was having trouble with managing a conversation when the other person won’t stop talking. Understandably, she does not want to be impolite or rude. But at the same time, allowing the other … Read more
Asking open questions is a great technique for rapport-building and connection. An open question is a question that gives the recipient the opportunity to express themselves: for example “what’s your favorite thing about living here?” or “how did you get inspired to work on that project?” (One reason why so many conversations stall out in … Read more
Frank Luntz, a Republican consultant, spearheaded the messaging change from “estate tax” to “death tax” in the 1990s. The term “death tax” had been used decades before, but it was used again at that time as Republicans sought support for its repeal. By shifting the frame from a tax on “estates,” (which sounds like it only affects very … Read more
Framing is everything. I’ve written before about the power of framing in persuasion. At minute 1:40 in this segment on Fox News, Dr Oz shows how it’s done, whether intentionally or not: Dr. Oz on how US can dramatically lower health care costsWatch this video on YouTube He briefly turns a conversation about healthcare spending … Read more