Psychological Hacks.
1. When a group of people laugh, people will instinctively look at the person they feel closest to in that group.
2. If you ask someone a question and they only partially answer, just wait. If you stay silent and keep eye contact they will usually continue talking.
3. If you get yourself to be really happy and excited to see other people, they will react the same to you. It doesn’t always happen the first time, but it will definitely happen next time.
4. The moment your alarm wakes you up, immediately react by sitting up, pump your fists and shout “YEAH!”
5. I currently work for the Federal government, and used to work in a high profile office, which reported directly to parliament. After years surrounded by important people, Media coverage and generally feeling way over my head, here are a few things I learned along the way; · Fake it till you make it; confidence is more important than knowledge.
· Don’t be intimidated by anyone, everyone is playing a role and wearing a mask.
· Don’t be afraid to ask questions; it makes you look interested, and you will learn something. Anything can be learnt if you put the effort in. Everything anyone knows, they learned along the way. Everyone, even the president. Ask open ended questions to move conversations along. Learn the difference between open and closed questions.
· Along the same line, learn to argue for and against a variety of topics. If you can do this, you can take any position on any matter. Being able to argue a point is the basis of persuasion and learning.
· When you are having a conversation, use open body posture. Learn the difference between open and closed body language. When you feel uncomfortable, mirror the other person’s body language.
· Learn how to paraphrase and summarize, to ensure understanding and avoid mis-communications. Along the same line, if you are going to use a telephone, record yourself talking. Are you difficult to understand? Do you talk fast? Etc. Put yourself in the shoes of the other person.
· Knowledge is power. Don’t just learn how to do your job, learn why it has to be done a certain way. Improve on it if you can. Demonstrate your knowledge to your bosses, it will get you noticed.
· Go to your managers with solutions, instead of problems. Make their job easier, learn how they work, and then ride their coattails up the ladder.
· Your attitude is everything. Learn how to deal with stress without changing your behavior. Doing a high stress job is one thing, doing it while making it seem seemless is another. This is also why knowledge is important – the more you know, the more confident you become, and the better you look.
· Learn Etiquette. It might seem stupid, but it is the basis of common business courtesy, and it DOES make a difference.