2014: The Year of Unapologetic Mastery. A few weeks ago, I was having lunch with my mom and dad. About halfway through, my mom cleared her throat. “You know, I was hoping I could go to India next year,” she said. “Oh really?” I said, knowing where this was going. “When are you thinking?” “Maybe in January.” “It would be nice if you could send me a ticket,” she added in a tone that only moms have. For any white people reading this, this is common with Indian moms. (Actually, all Asian moms are hilarious.) Found on Reddit “No problem,” I told her. I started to pick up my slice of pizza when she looked at me. My sweet mom went from raising 4 kids on one income — including shopping at Ross on Tuesdays for the discount and only eating out once a month — to demanding an international business-class ticket to India??
My dad was just sitting at the table laughing. Instant irresistibility: The 7 keys to advanced social skills - video. I did not want to hit on this woman.
But my friend noticed her checking me out, so he glanced at me and raised his eyebrows. I looked at him, silently saying, “Really? Do I have to?” He just tilted his head and raised his eyebrows even higher. Nothing more needed to be said — every guy knows what that look means. Keep in mind this woman was a lot older than me, not really my type, and I hate approaching at bars.
Ramit: “Hi, I’m Ramit.”Woman: “Hi, I’m (whatever).Ramit: “You look like a vodka soda kind of girl” (I know, I know. I was a little surprised at how aggressively she said no, so I decided to have some fun. Ramit: “Aw come on, I’ve been right 100/100 times for the last 5 years. Shortest bar conversation ever. On Friday, I asked you to talk to ONE random person and write down what happened. Today, I want to take you to the next level by giving you even more advanced material — plus another challenge. Here’s what I created for you today: How do you practice improving social skills? Earlier this week, I was at a dinner party with a few friends. As I was sitting in my usual position of reclining, drinking and telling dirty jokes, I spotted my mortal enemy: an avocado. “Hey,” I asked my friend, “can you show me how to cut an avocado?” Twice this week, I got an avocado sent to me. The first time, I just looked at it and threw it in the trash. I don’t know how to cut that shit. The second time, I realized this avocado probably cost me like $10, so I tried to figure out how to eat it.
If you’re wondering HOW ARE YOU EVEN ALIVE RAMIT?? Why am I telling you this? No. This happens with money, careers, health and fitness, and most of all, social skills. Think about it: When was the last time you asked someone how to make small talk? It’s fascinating to me that social skills are one of the most important skills we can develop — maybe THE most important skill — yet we rarely look at it as a teachable, learnable skill that we can improve on.
Why won't anyone be honest with you? Jesus, relationship advice for women is the worst. I was reading a women’s relationship-advice site (because I’m really a 40-year-old black woman trapped in a debonair, suave man’s body). This girl was asking for advice about a guy she was seeing. They had gone on a few dates, but he hardly called her and mostly sent short text replies when she initiated. “LEAVE HIM!” The other women on the forum yelled. Ramit's Brain Trust. Negotiations course. Dream Job (summary) How to test responses. A few years ago, I went to visit my sister on the Caribbean island of Grenada and she took me to the local market to buy some hot sauce.
As we were walking around, she told me about a young boy at the market who was legendary for selling more than any of the other boys. “How?” I asked. It turned out he always carried a notebook with him. Every day, he would systematically vary his clothes, what he said when he approached potential buyers, how much he would laugh, if he would dance, and many more variables. Imagine a notebook like this: Attention statistical nerds: Yes you need to control for different variables. After dozens of interactions, he would know key insights that the other boys — who simply depended on intuition — would not. After hundreds of interactions, he would have such a fine-tuned approach that his sales would be permanently above everyone else. This is precisely what happened. This happens all over the world.
How can you apply this to your life? Testing in bars “Amazing!