Interesting People: 7 Things They All Have In Common
ve posted a lot of research from experts on getting people to like you, being influential and having great conversations. What's the best way to use all this information to be more interesting? 1) First, Don't Be Boring Sometimes the best offense is a good defense. Look at it like the Hippocratic Oath of conversations: Do no harm. We're all terrible at realizing when we bore others because, well, we all think we're just fascinating. The #1 tip for never boring…
4 minutes
How To Be A Better Parent: 3 Counterintuitive Lessons From Science
cerpts from my interview with Po Bronson, New York Times bestselling author of NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children, about how to be a better parent. 1) Peer Pressure Can Be A Good Thing Myth: Peer pressure is always bad, just leading kids to drinking, drugs and vandalism. Fact: The same instinct that makes some kids so vulnerable to peer pressure also makes them better students, friends and, eventually, partners. Po Bronson: The same kids who were very vulnerable to peer pressure…
4 minutes
How To Have A Great Relationship: 5 Words You Need To Remember
ve posted a lot about the research behind what makes relationships work -- and not work. How can you remember what all these studies have to say? Just keep the 5 R's in mind: Right Real Rapport Relate Review Let's break them down. Fight Right You might think it would be great if you could have a relationship with zero arguing. But marriages with no arguments are 35% more likely to divorce. Via 100 Simple Secrets of Great Relationships: Married…
6 minutes
20 Simple Secrets Of Happy Families – All Backed By Science
bsp; Where You Live Matters Via 100 Simple Secrets of Happy Families: People who are highly satisfied with their neighborhood are 25 percent more likely to be highly satisfied with their family life. -Toth, Brown, and Xu 2002 Open Communication Is A Must Via 100 Simple Secrets of Happy Families: The less open the communication between adults and children, the more pessimistic the children are likely to be and the less likely the children are to feel secure in their family relationship.…
5 minutes
5 Expert Ways To Deal With Difficult People — And Make Them Love You
ve posted a great deal on working with difficult people and how to make people like you. What new research and expert advice can we use to better deal with difficult people? The Feedback Sandwich Doesn't Work -- This Does Nobody likes delivering bad news. Stanford's Jeffrey Pfeffer recommends having someone else do it whenever possible. But what about when it's unavoidable? Don't do the old "feedback sandwich" of positive comment, negative comment, positive comment. Research shows it's better to be…
5 minutes
The Surprising Science Behind Earthshakingly Wonderful Friendships
bsp; Not Having Enough Friends Can Kill You Carlin Flora: Julianne Holt-Lunstad did a meta-analysis of social support and health outcomes and found that not having enough friends or having a weak social circle is the same risk factor as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. We've had such great public health campaigns against smoking in the last 20-odd years, and now we're finally learning that having a good and satisfying social life is just as important, if not more important,…
3 minutes
Where To Find Love — Or Lust
en readers email me about the research behind relationships and sex the most common question is always the same: Where? Where should they meet that special someone? Bars? Online? Through friends? Book clubs? Terrorist cells? Religious cults...? What works? Yes, science has info. But the answers depend on what you're looking for. Looking For Love Want to settle down? Ask a family member if they know anyone. People meet all kinds of partners through friends. But you're far more likely to…
6 minutes
Science Of Karma: 3 Steps To Making It Work For You
you believe in karma? Research shows that most of us do, whether we admit it or not. When we want something and we're unsure whether we'll get it, we become more helpful: We suggest that when wanting and uncertainty are high and personal control is lacking, people may be more likely to help others, as if they can encourage fate’s favor by doing good deeds proactively. Four experiments support this karmic-investment hypothesis. You feel that if you do something…
6 minutes
