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11 Things You Should Stop Saying To Introverts. 1. Why are you so quiet? Oh yeah? Well why are you always rolling around yapping your pie hole and acting like gorilla all the time. Getting asked why introverts are “so quiet” is really annoying, but it just underscores how much value people place on talking and filling up the air with meaningless sound. 2. You must not but that smart — I mean, you never say anything in class. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. How to Listen: Expect Nothing. Meeting Designed by Slava Strizh In the United States, overworking can be a badge of honor, proof of your dedication and passion.

Even for those that do stick to a 40-hour work week, chances are they’re also freelancing or working on side projects. As in a recent article in the New Yorker, James Surowiecki explains: Thirty years ago, the best-paid workers in the U.S. were much less likely to work long days than low-paid workers were. By 2006, the best paid were twice as likely to work long hours as the poorly paid, and the trend seems to be accelerating. A 2008 Harvard Business School survey of a thousand professionals found that ninety-four per cent worked fifty hours or more a week, and almost half worked in excess of sixty-five hours a week. Overwork has become a credential of prosperity. And, as Surowiecki goes on to point out, this seems hypocritical considering the common knowledge today that working too many hours has a detrimental affect on business.

Read the rest here. How to Stop Giving a F*ck What People Think. 30 Tips You Can Use To Approach Anyone. In order to meet new people we have to actually approach and speak to them, which can be really nerve-wracking. Thankfully, Ivan Chan of Self Stairway has 30 tips to share that can make it far easier to approach anyone: It’s terrifying approaching someone for the first time. Naturally, you want to make a good first impression with this person, but you have no idea how they will react to you.

Will they like you? Will they reject you? Will they think you’re an idiot? The fear of looking like an idiot by saying or doing something stupid is uncomfortably real. I used to be terrified of approaching people too. After all, a wealthy life is not just defined by how much money you have. I decided to work on my social skills. It took me years, but I eventually found a system that works–a system I’ll share with you today. You’re about to learn how to approach a stranger with confidence, charisma, and even a little flair. 1. Are you deathly afraid of approaching people?

2. No, not a stranger. 3. 4. Eight Tips for Telling a Good Anecdote. Stories grab attention the way no other technique can. Your anecdote may be serious, sad, humorous, enlightening, or inspiring. It may serve as proof that a situation exists in your organization, an example of what excellent organizations do to lead the industry, the epitome of innovation, a thought-provoking “war story” from one of your front-line employees, or merely a momentary inspiration. Even with a serious point, humor generally helps.

Your purpose is not to bring down the house with wildly funny stories; the audience does not expect Jay Leno or David Letterman. Slanting your story to your audience—their point of view and their mood—adds to the impact. 1. 2. 3. 5. 6. 7. With such a long buildup, the typical group reaction after you tell the anecdote will be, “That wasn’t so unusual.” Just get into the story and make your point. You will generally improve your delivery with each telling. How to Tell Your Story without Boring Your Audience to Tears. Have you ever listened to someone tell a story, over coffee or at a conference, and been absolutely bored to tears? Or worse: the story was interesting, but there doesn’t seem to be a point?

Join the club. Maybe the meat of the story you heard was interesting, but for some reason you just couldn’t stay engaged. Or perhaps you heard an anecdote that completely blew you away, but when you tried to retell it, it didn’t have nearly the same impact. Why was that? Chances are — whether you realized it or not — the person was using dynamic storytelling elements. So if you need some help, here are three simple steps to how to tell a more compelling story: 1. A “hook” is your opener. 2. A story has natural momentum to it. Ira Glass calls this the “anecdote” — a story in its purest form — and likens it to a train on which you’ve invited others to join. Glass also says you need “bait” to keep your audience engaged. 3. Many people seem to tell stories just to tell them. Why is this relevant? Have Three Good Stories Ready to Always Be Interesting. The 5 Rules Of Email Flirting, George Clooney Style | Graziagram.

“Grammar Bullies” Are The Worst. 10 Things It’s Impossible To Look Sexy While Doing. 1. Eating chicken wings. When we’ve got honey BBQ, mild, hot or lemon pepper drenched chicken and a pool of ranch or blue cheese to dip it in, appearances become the least of our concerns. Meat is being sucked from the bone, cheeks and fingers are smeared in coats of various sauces, shirts are stained, grease is everywhere. Sexy? 2. Hopefully you aren’t wearing a dress of some sort, because clothes are flying everywhere, and hair is being ruined as if Mother Nature is giving you a really aggressive noogie. 3.

Movies love to pretend like this can be done any way other than sloppily. 4. Stretching your jaw, mouth wide open and eyes squinted is never a person’s most appealing moment. 5. There are two types of cry faces. 6. I’ll never have to experience leggings, but I once mistook a pair of ‘Skinny’ jeans for ‘Slim Fit,’ and what I discovered was a world of discomfort and struggle. 7. 8. 9. 10. It doesn’t matter if you’re watching Ryan Gosling and Jessica Alba jog towards each other. 30 Tips You Can Use To Approach Anyone. 4 Steps to Overcome Your Fear of Public Speaking. Fear of public speaking ranks extremely high for most people.

Experts say that it is feared even more than death! It’s easy to assume that you are not very good at it when, in fact, the problem is caused less by your ability to speak and more by your fear of speaking. Once you break that barrier of fear, you may find out that you’re pretty darn good at it. Not only that, you might even love it! As someone who broke that very barrier, I understand this fear intimately. Here are three steps to get you started in your journey. Write down at least one way that this fear is limiting your life. What is this fear stopping you from doing? Join a speaking group. Probably the most popular group is Toastmasters International. Acknowledge your fearful feelings. Realize that you are afraid because you care. Talk about what you know. When you truly understand a topic, it is easier to focus on getting the idea across rather than trying to remember something word for word. It is Always Better to Confront than Avoid a Situation.

Easily Pick Up the Art of Saying No. I used to suck at saying no, but trust me: when you say yes too often and your life no longer feels like your own, you learn really fast! For me, it wasn’t so much a fear of disappointing people that fueled my “Sure, why not?” Attitude–it was my nonexistent sense of individuality. Saying yes was my way of figuring out what I did and didn’t want, like and don’t like. But when it came time to set boundaries, what felt like a gradual shift to me was sudden and shocking to everyone else. Here’s why saying no is important: If you say yes too much, the quality of every aspect of your life will suffer.You’ll become scattered, stressed, and unable to focus on what’s truly important to you.People will start to consider you enthusiastic, but unreliable.Feelings of overwhelm, inadequacy, guilt and frustration will consume you.Follow-through?

Regardless of why you always say yes, the most important thing you can do is equip yourself with ways to say no that won’t hurt or offend anyone. Have The Courage To Write Badly. Be a Networking "Matchmaker" to Build Your Contacts. 7 Reasons Why You Should Pay a Compliment to Someone Every Day. It happens to the best of us: we all have those days when we’re feeling a little bit off, a little blue or just plain cranky. The next time you find yourself trying to positively affirm your way out of that bad mood and the best you can do is mumble a near-profanity through clenched teeth, take a look around and pay a compliment to the first person you see. It sounds a lot easier than it is in the midst of trying to outrun a dark cloud that’s been chasing you all day, but I’m willing to bet that if you stop running long enough to let someone know you like their shoes or their smile or even their left earlobe, both of your worlds will be transformed almost instantly.

Here are the top 7 reasons to make a compliment to someone every day, whether you’re under a black cloud or rainbow: 7. 6. And smiling often leads to laughing, and laughing burns even more calories. 5. 4. We’ve all heard the phrase “kill them with kindness.” 3. 2. 1. Enough said. The Best Life Lessons Learned from Stand Up Comedians. To Be Beautiful Means To Be Yourself, You Don't Need To Be Accepted By Others. The Matt Damon Method of Finding Help. Buoy designed by Gendalf Green from the Noun Project Finding the right person to help you with your project or career can make all the difference between spinning your wheels or a steadily improving success.

On his blog, startup founder Nathan Kontny explains that the best way to find help is to first become that person yourself. Kontny writes: Everyday I bump into someone struggling to find someone to help them with their project or career. When you act on the behaviors of the person you’d ideally work with, as Kontny explains, two major things happen. The second benefit to becoming the person you’re seeking out is that you learn what their job or task entails, allowing you to more effectively spot the specific actions and accolades that your ideal partner will have.

Whether you’re looking for a business partner, a new team member, or someone to help you get the word out about your work, the first step to finding the right person is to act as they would. [via] Weekend Reads: Maybe You’re Not an Introvert. Famed designer Massimo Vignelli passed away this past month at the age 83. As a result of his nearly 60-year-long career, Vignelli left behind a lengthy legacy of creative wisdom.

Included among the libraries of insights from his career, Vignelli gave us three essential components for building a fulfilling and successful creative life: vision, courage, and determination. As Vignelli explains in the video above: Nearly anyone can learn to use the tools and strategies other designers and illustrators use: Train yourself to have vision, courage, and determination. These three things, to me, are very important. You have to work with people who have that, and at the same time, you have to have it, so that you can install it on people. You can excite them. Without vision, nothing separates you from any other “pencil pusher.”

Take Vignelli’s wisdom and find your vision, train yourself to be courageous, and determine to be determined. Are You Surrounded By Idiots? Real Talk: You’re the Jerk, Not Them. Buoy designed by Gendalf Green from the Noun Project Finding the right person to help you with your project or career can make all the difference between spinning your wheels or a steadily improving success.

On his blog, startup founder Nathan Kontny explains that the best way to find help is to first become that person yourself. Kontny writes: Everyday I bump into someone struggling to find someone to help them with their project or career. They are business people looking for technical co-founders or people…looking for someone else to write about [them].Now, from all these years in business, I realize that Matt Damon had it right. Instead of looking for some executive producer to give him a starring role, he was just going to become the executive producer. [For example,] if you’re a “business guy” stuck because he can’t find a technical co-founder: go become the technical co-founder. [via] How to Grow Your Personal Brand When You're an Introvert. Essential Body Language for Negotiation. In a consumer-driven society, human interaction is essential to sustaining economic success. How we communicate with each other determines how we live our lives and build relationships.

Negotiation and communication are necessary skills in any relationship. Learning to control the signals you are sending with your body is a great way to ensure you will always get your point across clearly and without confusion. Regardless of what medium people use to interact and connect on (i.e. social media, email, text messaging, or face-to-face conversation), body language is used in every form of communication. Reading Body Language When it comes to personal happiness and success, it’s important to recognize how body language influences our interactions. Identify a Baseline: Baselining involves observing people when they’re not under pressure. Controlling Your Body Language In order to find a compromise during negotiations, it’s essential for you to have power over your own body language. 10 Ways To Be A Better Friend. I was recently asked who I consider to be my best friend. After thinking about it for a while, I decided I could not choose just one.

All of my friends are so dear to me, and I think part of the reason I have so many strong, long-standing relationships in my life is because I try to treat everyone with equal respect and understanding. I recently decided to try and pinpoint exactly what I think makes the relationships in my life work so well. Here is what I found: Have Empathy Everyone knows the golden rule: Treat others the way you wish to be treated. There is a fine line between projecting your own experiences on others and actually understanding what they are going through. Know Yourself This concept is generally cited in reference to romantic relationships, but you will find that self-awareness is a very useful tool in all human interactions. Show Yourself to People The most important thing after knowing yourself is being yourself. Do Not Judge Don’t Posture Communicate Acceptance.

Video: 15 Negotiation Tips From a Harvard Professor. Buoy designed by Gendalf Green from the Noun Project Finding the right person to help you with your project or career can make all the difference between spinning your wheels or a steadily improving success. On his blog, startup founder Nathan Kontny explains that the best way to find help is to first become that person yourself. Kontny writes: Everyday I bump into someone struggling to find someone to help them with their project or career. They are business people looking for technical co-founders or people…looking for someone else to write about [them].Now, from all these years in business, I realize that Matt Damon had it right.

Instead of looking for some executive producer to give him a starring role, he was just going to become the executive producer. When you act on the behaviors of the person you’d ideally work with, as Kontny explains, two major things happen. [via] Envy Is Ignorance, Imitation Is Suicide + Other Insights on Haters from Emerson. 10 Easy Tips For Dealing With Difficult People. There is Nothing Noble in Being Superior to Your Fellow Man. How To Keep The Conversation Going With Someone You've Just Met. 7 Free Ways to Make Yourself More Attractive.