The 5 Most Important Things to Know About People
I’m at a party one night, making small talk.
“What do you do?” asks a man I’ve just met. It’s a fair question yet I’m horribly tempted to lie. Not because I’m worried he’ll want free therapy with a drink in his hand but because if I tell the truth the conversation always goes like this.
Me: “I’m a psychologist.”
Him: “Ha! You’ll be able to read my mind then.”
Or: “What can you tell about me by the way I’m holding my drink?”
Cue polite laughter. People often think it’s the first time you’ve heard these jokes — it’s not, but that’s okay. The truth is we can’t read minds. We’re not magicians. I wish. That only happens in Vegas or on reality television.
What we can do, though, is put together is a pretty coherent explanation for why people think, feel and behave as they do. In other words, we can help make sense of their story.
It sounds complex, and it can be, but the fundamentals of being human are shared by us all. If you want to get the most from people (or help them to get the most from themselves), here are the key things you need to know, especially if you’re a leader, boss, teacher, coach or parent:
