Shortform Books

How Do People View Time in Different Cultures?

How do people of different cultures perceive time? What is the difference between linear time and flexible time perception? Understanding how other cultures perceive time is crucial for maintaining beneficial business relationships. Otherwise, you might be furious that you’ve been kept waiting—then become even angrier when your partner arrives and not only doesn’t apologize but is also confused as to why you’re so upset. In her book The Culture Map, Erin Meyer classifies the perception of time in different cultures into two broad categories: linear-time (aka monochronic) and flexible-time (aka polychronic). In this article, we’ll explore the differences in time

Tips & Questions to Ask to Keep a Conversation Going

How can you keep a conversation flowing smoothly? What kinds of questions should you ask to keep a conversation going? There are two methods you can use to keep a conversation going smoothly: asking open-ended questions about the other person and following up on their answers with additional questions. By avoiding straightforward questions, you give yourself the opportunity to connect more with the other person. Here are good questions to ask to keep a conversation going.

Popularity 101: How to Be Liked by Everyone

Liking Bias: Why We Ignore Faults in People We Love

How do you get people to like you? What is it about likable people that makes them that way? We all want to be liked and socially accepted—it’s a fundamental longing. Psychologist William James once said, “One of the deepest drives of human nature is the desire to be appreciated.” Though you won’t get everyone to like you, there are ways to make yourself into a person who gets along well with others, even if you’re not very social or are considered “difficult.” In this article, we’ll explore what it takes to become likable, drawing on sources from popular literature.

5 Hindrances to Success: Don’t Let Them Trip You Up

What are the biggest obstacles to success? What are some of the universal things people do that prevent them from achieving their goals? Everyone encounters challenges on the road to success. Of course, every situation is different, and whatever roadblocks you face in your quest for success are uniquely personal. However, there’re some hurdles that can trip up virtually anyone. The following are some of the most common hindrances to success, according to Jeff Olson.

Range by David Epstein: Review, Context, & Approach

Are you thinking of reading Range by David Epstein? Is the book really worth all the hype? David Epstein is a former writer for Sports Illustrated who has built his career writing about the science behind athleticism. In Range, Epstein makes the case for generalism: a broad competence in many areas rather than the extreme mastery of one. Not only does cultivating range free you to pursue more of your interests, it entails professional advantages you could have never predicted. Here is our review of Range by David Epstein.

Managing Cross-Cultural Teams: Strategies and Tips

Do you manage a team made up of people from different cultures? How do you deal with cultural differences between team members? If you are a manager of a team represented by people from different cultures, it’s important to anticipate potential clashes that could happen between team members due to cultural differences. In her book The Culture Map, Erin Meyer presents several strategies managers can use when their teams need to work with different cultures or consist of people from different cultures. In this article, we’ll present the key strategies Meyer recommends when creating and managing cross-cultural teams.

Maxwell Maltz: Why Do We Self-Sabotage?

Is there any goal that you want to achieve yet you keep sabotaging yourself by engaging in behavior that takes you further and further from the desired end result? Why do we self-sabotage? According to Maxwell Maltz, the author of Psycho-Cybernetics, people self-sabotage when their conscious goals are in contradiction with their internal programming. He argues that the reason this incongruence occurs is one’s self-image. In this article, you’ll learn how your self-image impacts your programming and, consequently, your progress toward achieving your conscious goals.

How to Be Good at Small Talk: The 3 Principles

Do you want to know how to be good at small talk? Should you wait for somebody to approach you or should you start the conversation? In her book The Fine Art of Small Talk, author Debra Fine says that anyone can master small talk if they practice the principles. Whether you like it or not, it’s impossible to avoid small talk because it’s present in many aspects of life, so you might as well get better at it. Here are Fine’s tips for how to improve your small talk skills.

How to Heal Emotional Trauma: Forgive and Forget

How do people form emotional scars? Why do some people move on from emotional hurt relatively quickly while others form emotional scars that last a lifetime? Emotional scars—otherwise known as psychological trauma—result from situations that threaten your sense of emotional or physical safety. Psychologists argue that your subjective emotional experience of a situation defines whether you find it traumatic—the more powerless you feel, the more likely you are to feel traumatized and form an emotional scar. In this article, we’ll explore what determines your ability to heal from emotional trauma and how to speed up your recovery.

How to Build Trust in a Cognitive Culture

What is cognitive trust? How do cognitive cultures approach professional relationships? Erin Meyer, the author of The Culture Map, describes cognitive trust as trust that develops based on behaviors (as opposed to personal feelings). Cognitive cultures strictly delineate their personal and professional relationships. In this article, we’ll look at how members of cognitive cultures build trust and present some tips you can use to build trust in a cognitive culture.