Do you see the world as black-or-white or in shades of grey?

Some years ago, I did some research and discovered that shades of grey (SOG or ‘soggy’) thinking was associated with higher performance in the workplace. It helps people to be more persuasive. It may also help people to be more creative too. Separate research also suggests that people who engage in a lot of black-or-white, binary thinking may … Read more

It’s pretty much a fact that the cleverest, most skilled people don’t always get to the top. One of the key skills that helps people to succeed is being able to influence and persuade others.

So how persuasive are you? Are you genuinely assertive or perhaps a little too aggressive? Or are you insufficiently assertive and end up being taken advantage of by others?

Click the image below to bring … Read more

CNBC is a prestigious news channel which is broadcast live pretty much worldwide across the US, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The producers behind the show invited me on for a lengthy discussion about what published research tells us about how to win arguments.

This is a short (less than 3 minutes) clip from the show, but you should learn at least a couple of things about winning arguments … Read more

Most of us would probably be quite happy if only our colleagues and customers – and perhaps family and friends – would just listen to us more, right? Well, the latest research suggests that it’s not just what we say that matters. How we say it can matter a great deal too.

We know this because of advancements in technology that allow us to collect precise data on how people’s … Read more

In today’s Financial Times, a journalist asked me and other experts for thoughts on doing favours for colleagues and how to ask for favours.  You can read it on the FT’s website; however, as their site may require registration (which is free), I have also copied and pasted the article below.

By Rhymer Rigby

“Ask for things that are easy to fulfil,” … Read more