Communicate with Confidence Workbook_2022 (1)

Communicate with CONFIDENCE Additional reading

Words have incredible power. They can make people’s hearts soar, or they can make people’s hearts sore. Mordy Grothe

Table of Contents 04 The Essential Ingredient 32 Information is like food 06 D.O.P.E Test 34 Structuring the CARe way 22 Characteristics of a Good Communicator 36 Structuring an Analysis 24 Flaws in the way we think 38 Annexure 26 Intent-Impact Gap 39 Five minds of the future 28 How we process information? 3

The Essential Ingredient It is often said that the ability to communicate well with others is a skill that successful people have mastered. As success cannot really be achieved without input from other people, it follows that good communication skill becomes a vital and necessary ingredient. If you want to be more successful, the better you are able to communicate, the more you will achieve. It is also often said – wrongly – that a good communicator is someone who speaks well. The 19th-century Prussian military strategist Carl von Clausewitz defined war as “an act of will directed toward a living entity that reacts.” This simple observation is quite profound. War, at its essence, isn’t about fighting or killing, at least not for their own sake. Rather, it’s about an outcome. A reaction. A change. So is effective communication. I have long taken the metaphor Clausewitz provides, and have translated it this way: Communication is an act of will directed toward a living entity that reacts.

Communication is an act of will... ...that reacts. Effective communication is intentional. It is goal-oriented. It is strategic. This is the element most lost on many leaders. The only reason to engage Unlike ineffective communication, effective communication isn’t impulsive or an audience is to change something, to provoke a reaction. Effective top-of-mind. It isn’t self-indulgent. And communication isn’t just about what communication provokes the desired reaction; ineffective communication one says. It’s about anything one does or is observed doing. It’s about any doesn’t. Ineffective communication isn’t noticed, or it confuses, or it causes engagement with a stakeholder, including silence, inaction, and action. a different reaction than the one desired. ...directed toward a living entity... So effective communication is hard. It requires discipline. It requires understanding the desired reaction among the groups to which one Stakeholders aren’t passive vessels that simply absorb messages. Rather, communicates, which in turn requires knowing all one can about that group. they are living, breathing human beings and groups of human beings. They And then it requires saying and doing all that is necessary—and only have their own opinions, ideas, hopes, dreams, fears, prejudices, attention what is necessary—to provoke that desired reaction. And it also requires spans, and appetites for listening. Most important, it is a mistake to assume understanding the absolutely predictable consequences—both intended that audiences think and behave just as we do. Most don’t. Understanding and unintended—of words, silence, inaction, and action. an audience and its preconceptions, and the barriers that might prevent an audience from accepting what one is saying, is a key part of effective communication. Words matter. Words shape worldviews. Words provoke action and reaction, which in turn provoke more words. Getting the words right is critically important. Getting the action right is also critically important. And aligning the words and actions is even more important. 5

D.O.P.E Test Instructions 1. This test has 40 questions. Each question is a set of four words. 2. Choose one word from each question that describes you most accurately 3. All questions are compulsory 4. Use page 6 to mark your answers 01. openly distrustful and unwilling to confide directness in manner or speech suspicious mentally upset over possible misfortune or danger blunt lacking orderly continuity worried scattered of great consequence not given to gentleness or sentimentality 02. not elegant or graceful in expression easily excited serious tough withdrawn from society; seeking solitude awkward lacking restraint or modesty excitable a person who is physically weak and ineffectual a very boastful and talkative person 03. reclusive forward doormat braggart

04. unsusceptible to or destitute of or showing no emotion 08. having definite and highly organised structure able to accomplish a purpose; functioning effectively unemotional structured without strain or anxiety efficient having life or vigour or spirit unsympathetic lacking in sympathy and kindness relaxed animated uninvolved showing lack of emotional involvement undisciplined lacking in discipline or control 05. free from danger or the risk of harm 09. extreme care in treatment of details tenacious unwillingness to yield seeking to gain with effort safe disinclined to work or exertion meticulous constantly adhering to the same principles, course, form stubborn attention diverted especially because of anxiety achieving searching for something or more lazy consistent distracted seeking 06. narrowly and conventionally moral 10. expressing careful judgment having great power or force or potency or effect direct one’s attention to a central theme moralistic having pleasing manners or behavior judicial feeling compassionate for the feelings of others powerful possessing an extraordinary ability to attract focused ready to entertain new ideas pleasant sympathetic charismatic open-minded 07. following accepted customs and proprieties 11. caring only about yourself and your own needs free from external control and constraint conventional not disturbed by strife or turmoil or war self-centred independent marked by friendly companionship with others peaceful close-minded not ready to receive to new ideas social self-righteous excessively or hypocritically pious egotistical having an exaggerated sense of self-importance 7

12. to lessen the occurrence and impact of risk 16. painstakingly careful and accurate undue haste and lack of thought or deliberation risking loss or injury in the hope of gain or excitement minimise risk preferring choices with lower risk thorough enduring trying circumstances with even temper impulsive responding to events after the fact risk taker seeking out new and daring enterprises risk averse patient reacting adventurous 13. incapable of adapting to meet circumstances 17. of high moral or intellectual value causing strong disagreement with others aggressively self-assured inflexible adhering to established customs or doctrines idealistic full of love and generosity controversial liable to sudden unpredictable change assertive having or showing great excitement and interest conforming charitable fickle enthusiastic 14. requiring precise accuracy 18. characterised by method and orderliness restless or short-tempered under delay or opposition yielding positive results exacting without due thought or consideration methodical furnishing support or assistance impatient not mindful or attentive productive stir feelings, emotions, or peace careless supportive forgetful stimulating 15. rigidly uncompromising 19. made ready or fit or suitable beforehand recovering readily from adversity, depression, or change rule bound prepared worthy of being depended on resilient able to adjust readily to different conditions tactless lacking what is considerate in dealing with others reliable flexible reacts defensively to perceived threats of change non-committal refusing commitment to an opinion or course of action

20. eager to investigate and learn 24. excessively placing limits marked by aggressive ambition and energy curious restrictive susceptible to being led or directed pushy quick to take offence driven to be motivate strongly pliable touchy compassionate awareness and sympathy for another’s suffering passionate having or expressing strong emotions 21. tending to reserve or introspection 25. disposed to seek revenge or intended for revenge exercising usually unwarranted power marked by defiant disregard for consequences withdrawn lacking self-confidence vengeful lacking courage; ignobly timid and faint-hearted bossy full of trivial conversation rash quickly aroused to anger shy fearful talkative hotheaded 22. characterised by order and planning 26. complexity and richness of detail socially incorrect in behaviour having a powerful will; resolute systematic a person who accepts the leadership of another elaborate thinking highly of others rude intense desire or impatient expectancy strong willed having or showing good spirits) follower respectful eager cheerful 23. characterised by lack of decision and firmness 27. capable of correct and valid reasoning determination and energetic pursuit of your ends stubbornly unyielding indecisive lacking self-confidence logical open and genuine; not deceitful aggressive badly timed; not as planned persistent a power to affect persons or events unsure sincere untimely Influential 9

28. progression is of importance or consequence 32. indicating opposition or resistance internal incentive for progression given to exercising usually unwarranted power interested disposed or inclined toward any progression antagonist showing fear and lack of confidence motivated arouses action toward progression dominating skilful in influencing or controlling others willing timid motivator exercising caution or showing attention manipulative hopefulness that events will be favourable 29. willing or ready to agree or consent 33. stubbornly unyielding plainly communicates opinions or beliefs unpleasantly severe careful persistent a person who relies on another person for support confident a person who makes plans harsh worried and uneasy agreeable a person who rules or guides or inspires others dependent expressive not burdensome or demanding restless regarded with great favour, approval, or affection 30. 34. reserved and distant in manner (acking foresight or scope not mentally or morally sensitive planner requiring more than usually expected or thought due remote marked by a lack of interest leader capable of being foretold insensitive startling, sensational, over-the-top easy going interfere in someone else’s activity indifferent popular dramatic 31. 35. displeased by not meeting high standards unsparing and uncompromising in discipline mypoic perfectionist willing to settle demanding severe measuring oneself against others predictable compromising interrupts competitive

36. look over carefully 39. studying and understanding the parts of a whole come or bring to a finish or an end straightforward in behaviour, language, or action inspecting supply with necessities and support analytical able to appease others completing seek to employ or arouse others direct inclined to help or support sustaining calming recruiting friendly conformity to fact or truth; strictly correct concerned with actual use or practice 37. adheres to processes or concrete steps 40. worthy of reliance or trust expecting the best procedural accurate practical goal oriented focused toward a defined end or event dependable optimistic selfless unselfish concern for the welfare of others people focused tending toward interacting with others 38. minimal use of time or resources necessary able to make decisions or be firm economical not causing anger or annoyance decisive having a strong desire for success or achievement inoffensive ambitious You’ve finished the testing portion, it is now time to total up your answers on the next page. 11

Answer Sheet 1 a b c d 11 a b c d 21 a b c d 31 a b c d 2 a b c d 12 a b c d 22 a b c d 32 a b c d 3 a b c d 13 a b c d 23 a b c d 33 a b c d 4 a b c d 14 a b c d 24 a b c d 34 a b c d 5 a b c d 15 a b c d 25 a b c d 35 a b c d 6 a b c d 16 a b c d 26 a b c d 36 a b c d 7 a b c d 17 a b c d 27 a b c d 37 a b c d 8 a b c d 18 a b c d 28 a b c d 38 a b c d 9 a b c d 19 a b c d 29 a b c d 39 a b c d 10 a b c d 20 a b c d 30 a b c d 40 a b c d Now count up all of your answers and enter them in the spaces below: a’s b’s c’s d’s

Interpreting the Results The chart primarily provided as a visual guide to help you get a quick overview of how the four personality types are related. Communication style points to how each bird type likes to communicate: direct or indirect, blunt or subtle, offensive or defensive, doing or asking, telling or requesting. Emotionality points to how each bird type likes to make decisions: intuition or logic, thinking or feelings, emotional or detached. TELL Emotionality THINK Bold EAGLE Showy PEACOCK FEEL Wise OWL Peaceful DOVE ASK Communication 13

General Strengths Personality Verbal Clues You are supportive, respectful, dependable, agreeable, and willing to do You seek support, you have a soft and deliberate delivery, you give off what it takes to make things work. a calming and reassuring effect, you ask plenty of questions, you make statements cautiously, you are an excellent listener, you often say “I feel...” General Weaknesses when sharing your opinions, and you are patient and agreeable. You tend to conform, can be unsure, are sometimes too dependent on others, have a tendency toward awkwardness, and are sometimes pliable Personality Physical Clues around those with greater influence. You have a sincere and frequent smile, you are warm and friendly in appearance, you tend to make infrequent eye contact, you often nod in Judging Style: Feeling agreement, you use infrequent but open gestures, and you enjoy talking You tend to be relationships oriented, you can see “the big picture,” you have about people’s feelings. a right- brained preference, you take little effort to push into action, and you have a friendly gaze and accompanying gestures. Some Positive Emotions You are easygoing and relaxed, you are low-key, you are quiet but witty, Communication Style: Asking you have a relatively consistent life, you have a low assertiveness level, you You have a tendency to be indirect, you have a relatively slow pace are patient and well balanced, you are a flexible and all-purpose person, in conversations, you try to avoid risk, you use a soft voice, you are you are happily reconciled to life, you are calm, cool, and collected, and you generally cautious, you tend to ask permission first, you have low overall are usually sympathetic and kind. assertiveness, you prefer to ask safe questions, and you are usually a better listener. The Peaceful Dove The Harmony Seeker Low Assertive / High Emotionality The dove is people-orientated, loyal, friendly, hardworking and a great team player but tends to avoid change, confrontation, risk- taking and assertiveness.

Some Negative Emotions Tailor your decisions more towards considering You tend to avoid responsibility, you can be self-righteous, you can feelings and intuition be unenthusiastic, you tend to act shy and fearful, you are sometimes Be careful of using too much asking and thinking – overly worried, you are sometimes indecisive, you are sometimes too strike a balance compromising, and you can be selfish. Communicate with action and consider feelings when deciding Positive Work Qualities You are detail conscious, you like charts, graphs, schedules, figures, Be more action oriented in your communications and lists, you easily see problems and solutions, you are persistent and thorough, you have a need for task closure, you are neat and tidy, you TIPS for dealing are economical, you link data and find patterns, and you can have a low assertiveness level. with the others Negative Work Qualities You are generally hard to please, you are not generally people oriented, you tend to over analyse and over-plan, your standards are often too high, you can get overly upset at imperfections, and you tend to have a deep need for approval. Some Positive Friendship Traits You are faithful and devoted, you can solve others’ problems, you seek the ideal mate, you make friends cautiously, you are content to stay in the background, you will listen to complaints, and you generally avoid causing attention. Some Negative Friendship Traits You tend to hold back affection, you can be withdrawn and remote, you can be antagonistic and vengeful, you dislike those in opposition, and you can be overly suspicious and critical. 15

General Strengths Personality Verbal Clues You are industrious, orderly, exacting, persistent, and usually serious. You ask many questions, you are very precise in your wording, you use a careful and studied speech, you talk about tasks, you are soft spoken, you General Weaknesses stick to the agenda, you are a patient listener, you tend to use indecisive You are industrious, orderly, exacting, persistent, and usually serious. statements, and you say “I think...” a lot. Judging Style: Thinking Personality Physical Clues You are a task oriented, you have a predominantly left-brained preference, You use few gestures if any at all, you have a controlled and stiff posture, you want specifics and facts not feelings and emotions, you use non- you make infrequent eye contact, you tend to fold your arms, you take expressive facial expressions, and you use limited small talk. many notes, and you tend to use serious facial expressions. Communication Style: Asking Some Positive Emotions You have a tendency to be indirect, you have a relatively slow pace You are generally deep and thoughtful, you can be self-sacrificing, you are in conversations, you try to avoid risk, you use a soft voice, you are philosophical and poetic, you have a keen appreciation of beauty, you are generally cautious, you tend to ask permission first, you have low overall idealistic, you are generally serious and purposeful, you can be sensitive to assertiveness, you prefer to ask safe questions, and you are usually a others, and you can choose to be unemotional. better listener. The Wise Owl The Detail Seeker Low Assertive / Low Emotionality The owl is logical, mathematically minded, methodical and sometimes seen as a perfectionist. The owl can be slow to make decisions and inflexible if rules and logic says otherwise. Owls are not big risk takers but love detail.

Some Negative Emotions Be careful not to ask and feel too much – You tend to remember the negatives too often, you can be too introspective, strike a balance you can be self-centred, you can be moody and depressed, you sometimes Tailor your decisions more towards reason have guilty feelings, you tend to be off in another world, you can have a and logic persecution complex, and you tend to have selective hearing. Be more action oriented in your communication Positive Work Qualities You are dependable, you mediate problems, you have no trouble finding Communicate with action and decide with the easy way, you are good under pressure, you tend to avoid conflict, you sound reasoning are peaceful and agreeable, you are competent and steady, and you have administrative ability. TIPS for dealing Negative Work Qualities with the others You would rather watch than do, you are not usually goal oriented, you sometimes lack self-motivation, you resent being pushed, and you can be lazy and careless at times. Some Positive Friendship Traits You are easy to get along with, you are a loyal friend, you are pleasant and enjoyable, you are supportive and have great compassion, you are a good listener, you are generally inoffensive, you have many friends, and you sincerely care. Some Negative Friendship Traits You tend to stay uninvolved, you generally resist change, you are predictable, you dampen enthusiasm, you are usually indifferent to plans, and you are not usually exciting. 17

General Strengths Personality Verbal Clues You are enthusiastic, ambitious, dramatic, friendly, and stimulating. You usually tell rather than ask, you can sometimes use aggressive statements, you share personal feelings, you tend to make generalised General Weaknesses statements and give few details, you are competitive, you enjoy talking You can be overly excitable, seemingly manipulative, somewhat egotistical, about “people issues,” you readily state your opinions, and you often and sometimes undisciplined. speak quickly. Judging Style: Feeling Personality Physical Clues You tend to be relationships oriented, you can see “the big picture,” you You are highly animated, you are eager to perform, you use expansive have a right- brained preference, you take little effort to push into action, gestures, you have friendly and warm mannerisms, you make frequent eye and you have a friendly gaze and accompanying gestures. contact, you are generally restless, you are comfortable touching and being close, you tend to lean forward, and you act enthusiastically. Communication Style: Telling You are generally fast-paced, you can be an effective risk-taker, you can Some Positive Emotions be loud and opinionated, you tend to be a rule breaker, you are highly You live in the present moment, you have an appealing personality, you assertive, you make bold statements, and you sometimes listen selectively. have a good sense of humour, you are sincere at heart, you enjoy being enthusiastic and expressive, you are cheerful and tend to bubble over, you are talkative, you are a storyteller, you are openly curious, and you are emotional and demonstrative. The Showy Peacock The Excitement Seeker High Assertive / High Emotionality The peacock loves talking, being the centre of attention, has a wealth of passion, is highly enthusiastic, and is generally optimistic. Peacocks can be accused of talking too much and tend to lag in the ability to deal with details or time-management.

Some Negative Emotions Take a more inquisitive and inclusive You can have an overly loud voice and laugh, you are sometimes too approach to communication talkative, you have restless energy, you can be egotistical, you tend to get Be more inquisitive in communications and angry easily, you can be too happy for some to handle, you tend to be logical in deciding controlled by circumstances, and you can seem phoney (fake) to some people. Be careful of using too much doing and feeling – strike a balance Positive Work Qualities You enjoy thinking up new activities, you have energy and enthusiasm, you Tailor your decisions more towards volunteer for jobs, you inspire others to participate, you are creative and reason and logic colourful, you start tasks in a flashy way, you are outgoing, and you are good with lots of people. TIPS for dealing Negative Work Qualities with the others You confidence can fade fast, you priorities can quickly fall out of order, you can waste too much time talking, you can be undisciplined, you tend to decide by feelings alone, and you tend to not follow through on actions. Some Positive Friendship Traits You seem exciting, you thrive on compliments, you apologize quickly, you like to be spontaneous, you make friends easily, you forgive easily, you are able to prevent dull moments, you love people, and you are enjoyed by others. Some Negative Friendship Traits You can be fickle and forgetful, you generally want to be center stage, you tend to dominate and interrupt, you don’t generally listen well, you sometimes answer for others, and you sometimes look too hard to take credit for accomplishments. 19

General Strengths Personality Verbal Clues You are strong willed, independent, practical, decisive, and efficient. You tend to tell instead of ask, you generally have rapid speech, you ask for data and not feelings, you deliver your messages in an organised fashion, General Weaknesses you make decisive statements, you readily state opinions, and you quickly You can sometimes be overly dominating, tough, severe, pushy, and harsh. get to the “bottom-line.” Judging Style: Thinking Personality Physical Clues You are a task oriented, you have a predominantly left-brained preference, You make intense eye contact, you tend to use aggressive gestures, you want specifics and facts not feelings and emotions, you use non- you lean forward, you generally have a serious expression, you can be expressive facial expressions, and you use limited small talk. impatient, and often use a monotone voice. Communication Style: Telling Some Positive Emotions You are generally fast-paced, you can be an effective risk-taker, you can You are a born leader, you know you can run anything, you are independent be loud and opinionated, you tend to be a rule breaker, you are highly and self- sufficient, you have a strong desire for change, you are not assertive, you make bold statements, and you sometimes listen selectively. easily discouraged, you have a drive to correct wrongs, and you can be unemotional when beneficial. The Bold Eagle The “Results Seeker” High Assertive / Low Emotionality Eagles are dominant, stimulated by challenge, decisive, and direct. Eagles can be blunt and stubborn, they can lose sight of the big- picture, and they can be insensitive to other people’s needs. Eagles are natural achievers.

Some Negative Emotions Be inquisitive in your communication and consider You enjoy controversy and arguing, you tend to be bossy, you are generally feelings when deciding impatient and have difficulty relaxing, you tend to be quick tempered, you Take a more inquisitive and inclusive approach are sometimes inflexible, and you are usually unsympathetic to people’s to communication feelings and needs. Tailor your decisions more towards considering Positive Work Qualities feelings and intuition You move quickly to action, you are goal oriented, you insist on production, you tend to thrive on opposition, you easily see the big picture, you Be careful of too much doing and thinking – stimulate activity, you seek practical solutions, you organise well, you easily strike a balance make goals, and you delegate easily. TIPS for dealing Negative Work Qualities You may make rash decisions, you have little tolerance for mistakes, you with the others believe the end justifies the means, you don’t analyse details often enough, you may be rude or tactless at times, and you are sometimes overly demanding of others. Some Positive Friendship Traits You will work well in group activities, you are usually thought of as being correct in your thinking, you excel in emergencies, you are not overly dependent on friendships, and you enjoy leading and organising. Some Negative Friendship Traits You tend to be too independent for some people, you may be seen as right but can be unpopular for it, you tend to use people to the point of exhaustion, you often believe you know everything, you can sometimes dominate others, you tend to decide for others, and you aren’t able to “I’m sorry...” easily. 21

Characteristics of a Good Communicator As a frequent presenter you must know that the final act of presenting Clarity in thought is often the coming together of many things. For a presenter to move from average to good, the presenter myst be aware of the fundamental Good delivery is always preceded by clarity in thought. Clarity of thought characteristics that make a good presenter. emerges from three inter-related concepts. One, it starts with knowing the concepts (or having the knowledge). Step two is the most critical as Understand how we process information it ensures success or failure. The second step calls for creating a logical structure that your audience finds easy to comprehend. There is more on The moment a slide comes on screen, the audience starts to consume and this later. absorb the information in it. And more often than not, slides are overloaded with information. Presenters dump information (including data) on the And finally, translating it in to unambiguous language that your audience slides in the hope that more information will create clarity. It does the exact finds easy to understand and retain. Don’t forget that clarity comes from opposite. It confuses them and they tune out. preparation. So before you even start putting together that next deck, you must understand how audience process and retain information, how they perceive colour and also what is the importance of typography is how messages are understood and retain.

Visual literacy Storytelling Visual literacy has been defined as the ability to understand, interpret After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we and evaluate visual messages. According to Wikipedia, visual literacy need most in the world. No wonder that the storytelling industry (from is based on the idea that pictures can be read and that meaning can be Bollywood and Hollywood to tv and Netflix) is so large and consumes so communicated through a process of reading. much of our life on an every day basis. The context of presentations goes far beyond just reading. Visual The TED conference is a story-fest in all its flourish. And Dr Ken Robinson’s literacy, for us, is the ability to both read and write visual information. The talk on how schools kill creativity is based on a story of a doctor, who expectation to encode your message visually is fast becoming a must-have noticed that the academic distress in the life of a little girl was hugely offset from a good-to-have. The mainstream media and the Internet are creating by her desire and talent to dance. Peppered with a dash of humour, the an expectation of visual clarity through the widespread use of infographics. story has inspired parents and teachers all over the world and continues to be the most watched TEDTalk. Ability to be in the present In the business context, storytelling is the key to leadership and Collectively we are losing our ability to be in the present and our world is communication and is merging with visual literacy to create what we are riddled with distractions and information overload. The ability to be in the now calling storytelling with data. present is recognising the importance of now. The now pushes you to forget the past (and its failures) and also ignore the future (and its insecurities). The only thing that matters is this presentation that I am delivering and failures in the past have no impact on this and all other tasks can wait. By being focussed on the moment, and not worrying about the outcomes, you can be your natural self, this creates an air of authenticity. And audiences love authenticity, whether it is a talk that is delivered to thousands at an election campaign rally or it is a review presentation delivered to a handful at the end of the is delivered to thousands at an election campaign rally or it is a review presentation delivered to a handful at the end of the quarter. The desire for finding authenticity in the speaker is what makes the audience hate someone who reads from a paper or the slides. 23

Flaws in the way we think Our failure to think clearly, or what psychologists call a cognitive error, The confirmation bias is alive and well in the business world too. One is a systematic deviation from optimal, rational, reasonable thought and example: an executive team decides on a new strategy. The team behaviour. These are not just occasional errors in judgement, but rather enthusiastically celebrates any sign that the strategy is a success. routine mistakes, barriers to logic we stumble over time and again, Everywhere the executives look, they see plenty of confirming evidence, repeating patterns through generations and through the centuries. For while indications to the contrary remain unseen or are quickly dismissed example, it is much more common that we overestimate our knowledge than as ‘exceptions’ or ‘special cases’. They have become blind to disconfirming that we underestimate it. Similarly, the danger of losing something stimulates evidence. us much more than the prospect of making a similar gain. In the presence of other people we tend to adjust our behaviour to theirs, not the opposite. What can you do? If the word ‘exception’ crops up, prick up your ears. Often it hides the presence of disconfirming evidence. It pays to listen to Charles Confirmation Bias Darwin: from his youth, he set out systematically to fight the confirmation bias. Whenever observations contradicted his theory, he took them very The confirmation bias is the mother of all misconceptions. This is our inherent seriously and noted them down immediately. He knew that the brain tendency to interpret new information so that it becomes compatible with actively ‘forgets’ disconfirming evidence after a short time. The more correct our existing beliefs and convictions. In other words, we filter out any new he judged his theory to be, the more actively he looked for contradictions. information that contradicts our existing views (disconfirming evidence). This is a dangerous practice. ‘Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored,’ said writer Aldous Huxley. However, we do exactly that, as super-investor Warren Buffett knows: ‘What the human being is best at doing, is interpreting all new information so that their prior conclusions remain intact.’

Action Bias Hindsight Bias In a penalty situation in soccer, the ball takes less than 0.3 seconds to travel In 2007, economic experts painted a rosy picture for the coming years. from the player who kicks the ball to the goal. There is not enough time for However, just twelve months later, the financial markets imploded. Asked the goalkeeper to watch the ball’s trajectory. He must take a decision before about the crisis, the same experts enumerated its causes: monetary the ball is kicked. Soccer players who take penalty kicks shoot one third of expansion under Greenspan, lax validation of mortgages, corrupt rating the time at the middle of the goal, one third of the time at the left and one agencies, low capital requirements, and so forth. In hindsight, the reasons third of the time at the right. Surely goalkeepers have spotted this, but what for the crash seem painfully obvious. do they do? They dive either to the left or to the right. Rarely do they stay standing in the middle – even though roughly a third of all balls land there. The hindsight bias is one of the most prevailing fallacies of all. We can aptly describe it as the ‘I told you so’ phenomenon: in retrospect, everything Why on earth would they jeopardise saving these penalties? The simple seems clear and inevitable. answer: appearance. It looks more impressive and feels less embarrassing to dive to the wrong side than to freeze on the spot and fair; low scorers Today, business journalists opine that Google’s dominance was predestined, rated it completely useless. So why do we attribute success to our own skill even though each of them would have snorted had such a prediction been and ascribe failure to other factors? There are many theories. The simplest made in 1998. One particularly blundering example: nowadays it seems explanation is probably this: it feels good. Plus, it doesn’t cause any major tragic, yet completely plausible, that a single shot in Sarajevo in 1914 would harm. If it did, evolution would have eliminated it over the past hundred totally upturn the world for thirty years and cost 50 million lives. Every child thousand years. But beware: in a modern world with many hidden risks, the learns this historical detail in school. But back then, nobody would have self-serving bias can quickly lead to catastrophe. dreamed of such an escalation. It would have sounded too absurd. In SAT tests, students can score between 200 and 800 points. When So why is the hindsight bias so perilous? Well, it makes us believe we are asked their results a year later, they tend to boost their scores by around better predictors than we actually are, causing us to be arrogant about our 50 points. Interestingly, they are neither lying nor exaggerating; they are knowledge and consequently to take too much risk. simply ‘enhancing’ the result a little – until they start to believe the new score themselves. Overcoming the hindsight bias is not easy. Studies have shown that people who are aware of it fall for it just as much as everyone else. So, how can we dodge the self-serving bias? Do you have friends who tell you the truth – no holds barred? If so, consider yourself lucky. If not, do you SUGGESTED READING have at least one enemy? Good. Invite him or her over for coffee and ask for an honest opinion about your strengths and weaknesses. You will be forever The Art of Thinking Clearly grateful you did. Rolf Dobelli 25

Intent-Impact Gap The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place, quipped George Bernard Shaw about the peculiarity of communication. Inadvertently, he also described the essence of the intent-impact gap. To really understand this, let us first look at the definitions of each of these words. Intent is what you have in mind as a goal when you decide to perform an action or what you would like to communicate. It reflects what type of impact you want to create with your actions. Impact, on the other hand, is the result of those actions. Intent is what you wanted to do; impact is the reality of your actions, and so often the results aren’t necessarily the same as what you intended. Impact reflects the reality of your actions. This gap can be rather stark when it comes to workplace communication in the business world. And there’s no sector of the working world to which communication skills are more critical than for those in leadership positions. A good leader successfully communicates with their teams, building trust, creating understanding, raising awareness and engaging them – guiding them to achieve the company’s goals – as well as their own. The results of a positive communication strategy affect both the long-term sustainability and immediate success of an team. Clear communication leads to: „ An open a dialogue and effective transfer of ideas. „ Boosting team morale, which further leads to greater employee engagement and retention. 

A very sensitive (and scientific) treatment of the subject was attempted by What happened and how is wonderfully articulated by Tim Harford in an Melanie Tannenbaum in a Scientific American blog post - “But I didn’t mean episode of his popular podcast, Cautionary Tales. You can hear the episode it!” Why it’s so hard to prioritise impacts over intents. You can read the entire here: https://timharford.com/2021/02/cautionary-tales-martin-luther-king- post here: https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/psysociety/e2809cbut- jr-the-jewelry-genius-and-the-art-of-public-speaking/ i-didne28099t-mean-ite2809d-why-ite28099s-so-hard-to-prioritize- impacts-over-intents/ And the speech is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nj9BZz71yQE The intent-impact gap can be expensive, really expensive - like a billion dollars. Gerald Ratner knows this better than any human on the face of this planet. He was the founder and CEO of an extremely successful chain of jewellers during the 1980s. At the peak of his company’s success, Ratner was invited to speak to the Institute of Directors, a group of high-powered businessmen and journalists, about how he’d made his company so big so fast. The speaking engagement, which Ratner himself now refers to as “the speech,” has since gone down as one of the biggest blunders in business history. 27

How we process information? Meaning before details Most of us have a a simplified framework representing some aspect of the world, or a system of organising and perceiving new information. Psychologists call it schema. A schema is relationship (or position) of one object with respect to another. Essentially, they are trying to understand the zoomed-out view of the idea and then dig into the finer details. It can also be described as a mental structure of ideas, Our existing schemas influence attention and the absorption of new knowledge: people are more likely to notice things that fit into their schema. The better people are at something, the more organised and powerful their schema about it will be. Schemas help the brain in another way. Schemas create patterns and our brains are better are recalling information rather than retrieving it. That is reason why you hear so many people say, “I am good with faces, but bad with names.”

10/20 Rule Organise & Structure Psychologist BG Davis, in his book, Tools for teaching asserts that “...student If we cut large amounts of information into smaller bits, it is not only easier attention during lectures tends to wane after approximately 10–15 minutes.” to understand, it also makes it easy to remember. And at the right time, Several others studies indicate similar findings – attentions are high at the we can put the pieces back together to see the full picture. This is called start of a talk or lecture and start to hit their low point after 10–15 minutes. chunking. It helps us organise into small pieces (or chunk of information to make comprehension easier and faster. The globally popular TED talks seem to break the mould. These talks peddle engaging and sometimes eye-popping ideas where speakers present their Learning and memory experts suggest that our short-term memory is fast ideas on a wide range of topics from technology to biomedical research but not very big. So, when new information arrives, our memory usually to culture. One key stipulation given to all speakers is that they have a overwrites what is there in its short-term memory. Also, to keep information maximum of 18 minutes to present their material. The rule dictating 18 in the working memory, you must be focussed on it. It happens so often that minutes is based on the notion that this is long enough to have a serious we forget the number of currency notes that we have counted if someone presentation but short enough to hold a person’s attention. says something or distracts us. And this is a safe rule to use. Ensure that when the audience is in the know However, if the information is deemed pertinent, the brain exerts effort to of the subject – keep it to 10 minutes or less. Change of pace through videos, move it from our working memory to our long-term memory. questions, polls are an amazing way to bring the attention of the audience back in. And use the TED rule to seed new ideas to your audience. George A. Miller formulated the chunk concept in 1956, as he presented evidence that working memory is limited in capacity. He suggested that people can remember from five to nine (seven plus or minus two) things and that people can process seven plus or minus two pieces of information at a time. Although Miller stated that working memory could hold seven (plus or minus two) chunks of information at once, it is now thought that the number is closer to three, maybe four bits of information. 29

Rule of 3 Mathew McConaughey, accepting his Oscar in 2014, used the rule of three many times to give a really memorable acceptance speech. The rule of three is a very general rule in speaking, and even in writing that states that concepts or ideas presented in threes are inherently more In what is considered Steve Jobs’ most memorable speech, the interesting, more enjoyable, and more memorable. It’s no coincidence that commencement address at Stanford, he started by saying, “Today I want to the number three is common everywhere - from phrases (as easy as 1-2-3, tell you three stories from my life. That’s it. No big deal. Just three stories.”1 Tom, Dick and Harry) to stories (the three musketeers, Goldilocks and the Three Bears) to films (Three Idiots; Amar,Akbar, Anthony). Remember, in presentations LESS IS MORE. Interestingly the Latin phrase omne trium perfectum (everything that comes Stories are a glue in threes is perfect, or, every set of three is complete) conveys the same idea as the rule of three. Ever since humans first sat around the campfire, stories have been told to create emotional connections. In many societies, they have been passed Shakespeare, putting words in Marc Anthony’s mouth, started with a triad along nearly unchanged for generations. Our ancestors used stories to Friends, Romans and Countrymen. explain day-to-day occurrences in nature such as why the sun rises and falls, as well as more overarching meaning of life. Stories are the most Steve Jobs applied the rule of three in nearly every presentation and product powerful delivery tool for information, more powerful and enduring than any launch. In 2007, Jobs introduced the first iPhone as the third of Apple’s other form. revolutionary product categories (the first two were the Macintosh and the iPod). He even said that Apple would be introducing three revolutionary products—a new iPod, a phone, and an Internet communications device. Jobs repeated the three products slowly until the audience finally figured out he was talking about one device capable of handling all three tasks. In 2011, Jobs introduced the iPad 2 as thinner, lighter, and faster than the original. The three adjectives so accurately described the new device, thousands of blog and newspaper headlines included those three words. 1 You can watch the entire link here: http://bit.ly/KNOLStory9

“The best way to unite an idea with an emotion is by telling a compelling story. In a story, you not only weave a lot of information into the telling but you also arouse your listener’s emotions and energy. Persuading with a story is hard. Any intelligent person can sit down and make lists. It takes rationality but little creativity to design an argument using conventional rhetoric. But it demands vivid insight and storytelling skill to present an idea that packs enough emotional power to be memorable. If you can harness imagination and the principles of a well-told story, then you get people rising to their feet amid thunderous applause instead of yawning and ignoring you.” Robert McKee Author, Story Information is static; stories are dynamic—they help an audience visualize what you do or what you believe. Tell a story and people will be more engaged and receptive to the ideas you are communicating. Stories link one person’s heart to another. Values, beliefs, and norms become intertwined. When this happens, your idea can more readily manifest as reality in their minds. 31

Information is like food Adopting a New Metaphor In 2000, a team of economists led by Hal Varian, who is now the chief Information is available in abundance today. Your infobese audience does economist at Google, ventured to measure the amount of information not want more of it, they crave for meaning. That is when it starts to deliver produced every year. The exercise was called How Much Information1 and it the nutrition that audiences are hungry for. was repeated in 2003. Thus if we start to look at information as food, most of the challenges that It stated that the amount of information produced in the 30 years preceding corporate presenters tackle stand addressed. Let’s see how…Bon appetit! 1995 was equal to the amount of information humankind produced from the first cave painting to every bit and byte till 1965. Let that sink in! Portion Control In 2017, IBM claimed that 90% of the data in the world has been created in None of us looks forward to the after-effects of a heavy meal or the the two years preceding 20173. aftermath of overeating. The impact is utmost discomfort. Overeating compromises on the nutritional contribution, and takes away all the We are drowning in information. We DO NOT need any more of it, and pleasure too. especially when it comes to presentations. Most presentations are nothing but dumps of charts without insight. More often than not, it is raw data Anyone who has smacked every morsel off of an Indian thali would converted into charts. immediately relate to this. There is always MORE food in the thali than you can eat. Information is Food for the Mind Information serves exactly the same purpose as food. We eat for nutrition and pleasure (Can the foodies please say aye!) Information is no different. We consume information for nutrition and of course for pleasure. 1 https://groups.ischool.berkeley.edu/archive/how-much-info/ 2 The report is missing from the IBM website, but you can read some excerpts from it here: www.mediapost.com/publications/article/291358/90-of-todays-data-created-in-two-years.html

“It was way too long,” is the most often heard remark at the end of a Meals Spread Across presentation that is prepared like a thali. Our body survives and thrives when the supply of food is staggered across Even a 20-minute presentation can seem like an eternity if the information the day. The amount and type of food we eat matches the time of the day. is not packaged to deliver meaning. To that effect, each of us have heard that eat your breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dine like a pauper. In essence, match the food to the needs. Never forget that your audience will always have less time than you, the presenter. Overstuffed is under explained. Sharpen your message by Presentations are no different. Depending on the objective that must be applying what we call the secret ingredient to successful communication — served, you should look at your presentation either as a bite, a snack or a the rule of three. meal. Aroma Drives Taste An elevator pitch is a popular format and many of us have made one too! That is a snack. You skim the details away to give the audience a glimpse Nothing puts your taste buds in overdrive than the whiff of your favourite (or a whiff) of the concept. The audience always gets it, and if they like what dish. Millions of us wake up and work only after they have had their fix of they see, they ask for more. That is the power of brevity. It stokes curiosity. caffeine. Coffee delivers the boost that you need. Studies suggest that just the aroma of coffee is enough to stir your brain. I would take this just one step further. Would you even think of serving non-vegetarian fare to a vegetarian? It would be an absolute no. However Presentations have their equivalent of aroma — slide design. Slide design is in presentations, it is all about us. What we did? Who we are? What can we often ignored and most slides end up being cluttered to the point that boring do?Flip this! presentations are often incorrectly called Death by PowerPoint. Talk about what you can do for your audience, rather than what can you do. Slide design serves another very important function — it drives And that makes all the difference. interpretation. A well designed slide brings our attention to the key message on it, in turn amplifying what the speaker is saying. Next time you’re getting ready to craft your next presentation, do not forget to don your info-chef’s hat. An often ignored advantage of well-designed slides is speaker confidence. Many speakers (including our clients) feel and report a marked improvement in their level of confidence when the slides are designed to communicate the messages clearly. Conversely, audiences expect and appreciate well- designed slides. Their expectations are specific— make it visual, and reduce the text & clutter. Ignore the importance of design at your peril. You may ignore it but bad design sticks out and everything is designed and most slides are badly designed. 33

Structuring the CARe way Let us now turn our sights on the advise that is being peddled in the name Structuring a Review Presentation of a business story. Very few experts and gurus (and all of these are well- intentioned folks) focus their energies on review presentations. The advise Like a good story, a well structured review presentation will also have being given out today can roughly be bucketed under two categories — slide three parts: design and ‘keynote’ kind of presentations — the TED style talks and pitches. For want of a better word, it would not be incorrect to call them speeches. 1. Context is a very important part of your presentation and do not under- The notion is that the presenter is out to change the world. The reality is develop, or skip entirely. Skipping the context can make your presentation they don’t want to change the world. They simply want to report the world. storyline confusing and uninteresting. The advise around slide design is quite far from the truth. Our review Your context must address the following: presenters do not need design, they just need well-formatted slides. „ The location of the events and time Story is thus a description of arranging information in some logical flow, supported with visuals, so that it is easily interpreted by the audience. Thus „ The main players a better word for it would Structure or Flow. „ What would you like to achieve and „ Who or what is getting in the way? For instance, you could briefly define the project or the assignment you are working on. The context provides all the necessary background for the story to make sense. If done right, it also grabs the audience’s attention, convinces the audience that your story is relevant, and generates. 1 www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/opinion/sunday/the-neuroscience-of-your-brain-on-fiction.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

2. Action: A common mistake is to start with the action. Don’t skip the After undertaking an entire analysis, it can be tempting to want to show context, because this engages the audience, but skimp on the details. your audience everything, as evidence of all of the work you did and the Making the context too detailed puts the audience off. robustness of the analysis. Resist this urge. Action, is where you tell what happened or what did you do. It is in this When it comes to explanatory analysis, there are onlytwo things to keep in section that you discuss the problems and (or) the conflicts. Unlike the mind - first, what do you want your audience to know or do? Hollywood scriptwriter’s story structure, the action doesn’t need to be so prescriptive for a good review presentation. Second, how can you use data to help make your point? 3. Result: And finally the result is the stage where you accomplish And don’t forget that are many different graphs, but a handful will work something. Make it just three. In addition to telling just the result, see if you for most of your needs. can cap it up with the right lesson the audience should have learned. There is a danger in selecting the wrong chart. When the audience can’t If the result is accompanied with an example, the audience will not just understand the chart easily, they will not question the chart, but the process the information deeper but also remember it longer. credibility and quality of data (or information) being presented. 4. Evidence: Before we get into the specifics of how and what to visualise to support and strengthen your results, let us understand a basic difference between exploratory and explanatory analysis. Exploratory analysis is what you do to understand the data and figure out what might be noteworthy or interesting to highlight to others. When you are communicating your analysis to your audience, you are in the explanatory space, meaning you have a specific thing you want to explain, a specific point you want to highlight. 35

Structuring an Analysis What are often touted as an analysis of the month are nothing but Both definitions hold importance in the world of presentations. If you data dumps. examine both of them closely, they state different things. The first one really hints at what should go into a review presentation and the latter tells The data (mostly raw) is thrown at the audience - slide after slide - usually in us how to go about do it. I will cover the structure of review presentations in the form of default formatted charts and tables. And mostly these tables are this post. a direct copy and paste from the excel sheets. The resultant presentation is a mish-mash of information that delivers no meaning but a lot of boredom. Start with the What The casualty is PowerPoint, a versatile tool which gets a terrible name. A good place to start your review presentation is to talk, briefly, about what What should an ideal review presentation contain, in the name of analysis? happened in the month (or period of review) gone by. The first section of Can we answer this question so that the presentations of today are not a your analysis must clearly answer the following three questions: boredom fest? Of course, and the answer lies in the evergreen song Do- Re-Mi, immortalised by Julie Andrews on screen. She so eloquently put it, a. What went right? “Let’s start at the very beginning. A very good place to start…” b. What remained the same? Let’s Start at the Very Beginning c. What went wrong? What better place than the dictionary to start. Looking up a dictionary really means google it! I did that myself. And Google defines analysis as detailed The obvious extension of what went wrong is the collateral damage. This examination of the elements or structure of something. The Cambridge part of your presentation is descriptive. This chapter describes the situation Dictionary defines it a little differently. The dictionary says that an analysis as is. is the process of studying or examining something in an organised way to learn more about it, or a particular study of something. And from there you should lead your audience into the second chapter of your presentation. 1 www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/opinion/sunday/the-neuroscience-of-your-brain-on-fiction.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Lead into the Why It is best to limit the choices available to three. Three choices are neither too many to overwhelm nor too few to give a sense of incompleteness. Once the what has been established, the audience is curious to understand Most effective speakers stick to the rule of three wherever possible. And the reasons. Why did it happen? This is your diagnosis of the problem. you can see innumerable examples of its effective use. The rule of three is a powerful speaking (and writing) device that most business presentations State all your reasons are affirmative sentences. This builds the credibility of ignore. your analysis in the minds of the audience. For every statement you make to establish the why, you should back it up with evidence (data). This is an b. Offer a Recommendation: When your role moves from facilitator to opportunity to provide the audience with a deep dive through supporting architect, continue with your three options of what next. Don’t stop here. data to understand the causes of the occurrence. Use graphs and charts that Recommend to the audience which one of the three is your choice. Your amplify what you saying. recommendation will be incomplete if it is not substantiated with a firm answer to the question — why is it the best option. The icing on the cake is One of the most common flaws in many review presentations is they begin data to back up your answer. with data. Data serves best as evidence to substantiate your diagnosis. Very often, it is expected that after the recommendation, you should have What Should We Do Next? an understanding of how to go about executing the recommendation. Starting from the what and leading into the why establishes the reasons. How Will We Achieve It? The obvious question to answer now is — what next? This can be an optional step when the objective of your presentation is to What should we do to address the issues? This is the point in the collectively, as a team, decide what to do? presentation where your diagnosis is leading to a prediction. Your presentation has arrived at a fork now. What route you take is dependent on Ending your analysis with a recommendation is abrupt. This chapter of your what do you wish to achieve. presentation establishes the rigour and depth of your work. You may not need to present the finer details of the plan and just a broad view would a. Brainstorm a Solution: Even if the objective is to arrive at a consensus on suffice. However, when you deliver a plan to your audience you expressly the way forward, as a presenter, your responsibility is to offer options. And tell them that you have done the hard work of thinking through the then brainstorm your way to the decision. situation. Thus you are ready to take it head-on. 37

Annexure

Five minds of the future Five Minds for the Future is a seminal book by Howard Gardner, a renowned The Respectful Mind responds sympathetically and constructively to psychologist best known for his theory of multiple intelligences, in which he differences among individuals and among groups, seeking to understand outlines the specific cognitive abilities that will be sought and cultivated by and work with those who are different, extending beyond mere tolerance leaders in the years ahead. and political correctness. These include: Humans exhibit a deep-seated tendency to create groups, to provide distinctive marks for these collectives and to adopt clearly positive or The Disciplined Mind refers to the ability to think in ways associated with negative attitudes towards neighbouring groups. We are inclined to major scholarly disciplines such as history, math and science, and major delineate groups, to identify with and value members of our own group and professions like law, medicine, management, finance as well as the ability to to adopt caution when dealing with other groups. apply oneself diligently, improving steadily and continuing beyond formal education. The Creating Mind is able to go beyond existing knowledge and synthesis to pose new questions, offer new solutions, fashion works that stretch existing genres or configure new ones. In our globally wired society, creativity is sought after, cultivated and praised. But it was not always so. In most human societies, throughout most of human history, creativity was neither sought after nor rewarded. In the past, creative individuals in society were at best a mixed blessing, often disdained, discouraged and even destroyed at the time of their breakthroughs. Our time is different. 39

The Ethical Mind is able to merge roles at work and as a citizen and act Some common examples of synthesis could take the form of narratives, consistently with those conceptualisations, striving towards good work and taxonomies, complex concepts, rules and aphorisms, powerful metaphors good citizenship. and even visualisations. We all want to live in a world characterised by good work that is A goal – a statement of what we are trying to achieve. excellent, ethical and engaging. Many people might look the picture of professionalism in an expensive suit with impeccable manners, but if they A starting point – an idea, image or any previous work on which to build. are executing compromised work they are not ethical members of society. We all need to be committed individuals who embody an ethical orientation Selection of strategy, method and approach – here the disciplinary training in our work. This ethical manner should also include civic roles where each of comes into play. The person (or group) must choose the format of their us should have the commitment to personally work towards the realisation ultimate synthesis, and draw on their discipline, to proceed towards the of a virtuous community that one can be proud of. goal. And the last is the one that is most critical for us in these times: the Drafts and feedback – eventually develop an initial synthesis and receive Synthesising Mind. feedback on it. The author writes, “Our existing models of learning have almost nothing to The mind of the young person is characterised by two powerful but say about the synthesising mind, though it is arguably the most important contradictory features. On the one hand, preschool children readily discern mind for this century.” connections between many things, using their imaginations to use every day objects as imaginary props in their adventures. The synthesising mind is able to select crucial information from the copious amounts available, arraying that information in ways that make sense to Preschool children love using metaphors to describe things. While they self and others. This ability to knit together information from different are excellent connectors, their connections are superficial and cannot be sources into a coherent whole is vital today. Sources of information are continued when trying to synthesise things in adulthood. The natural vast and disparate and individuals crave coherence and integration. Yet human connecting ability is charming but hardly sufficient for adult life. the forces that stand in the way of synthesis are formidable. Developing a disciplined mind that can think systematically within one scholarly On the other hand, by middle childhood, the human connecting impulse, discipline or profession is difficult, never mind trying to master a number while still there, has been chastened or corralled to where we shy away from of perspectives and then piece them together in a useful way. In addition, proposing fresh comparisons for fear of them being inexact or illegitimate. individual cognition is remarkably domain-specific and is predisposed to In this way human beings turn out to be creatures that are quite context or learn skills in certain contexts. Few individuals have expertise in inculcating site-specific and do not apply skills or concepts widely. the skill of synthesis.

Aristotle deemed the capacity to create apt metaphors as a sign of genius In the distant past, a comprehensive synthesising mind seemed within as it is such a difficult task for the average person to make comparisons reach. Knowledge accumulated far more gradually and wise persons had between two differing fields. at least a rough grasp of the full body of knowledge. But we live in a time where our most talented minds know more and more about increasingly So how do you develop a synthesising mind, and is it possible to develop a narrow spheres. Therefore, we need to make a concerted effort to develop disciplined mind while still keeping alive the potential for synthetic thinking? this important mental capacity to manage and ride change. This cognitive skill constitutes an invaluable deposit in ones intellectual bank that can be drawn upon at a later stage of life. Therefore we should be careful to celebrate and not censor or curtail the connections that are effortlessly made by young minds. The stance of multi-perspectives is very useful in the workplace. If different professionals from different fields working together can learn to anticipate the concerns of their colleagues then the prospect of productive, goal-directed teamwork is enhanced. In addition, many projects are enhanced when individuals of different economic, social, ethnic, and racial backgrounds work together to find solutions. 41

Further Reading

Further Listening Hosted by Matt Abrahams, lecturer of strategic communication at Stanford GSB, Think Fast, Talk Smart covers a variety of topics like storytelling, humour in presentations, presenting in a meeting, and many more. The episodes are insightful and engaging. www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/think-fast-talk-smart-podcast Real Dictators is NOT a podcast about storytelling but we learn the craft of narratives through this slickly produced podcast. From the obvious choices to unknown tyrants, this podcasts covers it all. Listen to learn storytelling, and some history too www.noiser.com/realdictators 43

[email protected] knoledgecorp @knoledgecorp #presoexcellence +91 98106 17376 www.knoledge.in