“People will decide how much time to spend
with you primarily based on how they feel when they’re around you”.
“You
want to be the person who any of your friends can introduce to anyone they know
and be sure that it will make them look good”.
To
stand out, find positive attributes that most people don’t have and then build
them.
The
Five Big Ideas
“How
we portray ourselves to others will define their experience of who we are”.
“Being
a net addition is different than just not being a net negative. Being simply
neutral is often a negative, as you are taking up an attendance slot that could
have been used by someone else who could have been an addition. It’s important
to proactively add to social situations”.
Build
a social circle that will both challenge and support you, depending on what you
need at the time.
“There
are four main channels being communicated on at all times: content, meta,
emotion, and status”.
“A
master of communication must be able to have two major conversations (content
and meta), while maintaining two minor conversations (emotion and status)”.
Superhuman
Social Skills Summary
“How
we portray ourselves to others will define their experience of who we are”.
“We
change all the time, usually in imperceptible increments, so why not guide that
change?”
“Being
a net addition is different than just not being a net negative. Being simply
neutral is often a negative, as you are taking up an attendance slot that could
have been used by someone else who could have been an addition. It’s important
to proactively add to social situations”.
“By
ensuring that you’re always a net addition, even if you’re not a huge one, you
will dramatically increase the number of events to which you are invited”.
“The
goal is to build a social circle that will both challenge and support you,
depending on what you need at the time”.
“There
are four main channels being communicated on at all times: content, meta,
emotion, and status”.
“Content
is what we think of when we talk about communication superficially”.
“The
meta channel is the undercurrent of the conversation. It’s the meaning behind
the meaning– the implication”.
“Sometimes
meta can be read in isolation, but it usually requires context”.
“The
emotion channel is more of a passive signal than an active channel”.
“And
last, the status channel is constantly sending out clues about our relative
status”.
“A
master of communication must be able to have two major conversations (content
and meta), while maintaining two minor conversations (emotion and status)”.
“The
meta channel may be the most important of the four”.
“The
key thing to understand about the meta channel is that it’s running all the
time”.
“The
point of the meta channel is that it allows for shades of gray not afforded by
the content channel”.
“Communicating
on the meta channel also allows people to save face”.
“The
first step to communicating on the meta channel is to constantly ask yourself
why people are saying the things they say”.
“By
making predictions and checking their accuracy later, you’ll begin to calibrate
your brain”.
“Think
about what you’d like to communicate, and decide whether it’s better to do it
on the content channel or the meta channel. Which will make the other person
feel more comfortable? Which will give you more options? Which gives them more
options?”
“A
lot of conversing is taking the other person on an emotional journey. You think
about where they are emotionally, as well as where they want to be, and you use
the emotional channel to guide them there, or keep them there if they want to
stay in the same place”.
“When
you join a new friend group, you want to understand the hierarchy. As an
outsider, it’s important to maintain the harmony of the group, and not disturb
it”.
“Understanding
someone’s status is understanding how they view their place in the world”.
“A
lot of status is communicated nonverbally with body language and eye contact”.
“Talking
about how high-status you are actually conveys low status”.
“Vocal
tone also communicates a lot about status”.
“However,
much of status is about what you will and won’t accept from yourself and
others. That can’t be faked, but it can be changed”.
“Disagreeing
with everything is even worse, but expressing your own opinion in a clear and
appropriate way conveys that you have the ability to think for yourself, even
in the presence of strong outside influence. You will be given respect for
doing this”.
“Be
aware of what others are communicating on the status channel, and avoid
mannerisms or habits that accidentally convey lower status”.
“When
you are introduced to someone or put into a social situation where people don’t
know you, your first goal should be to convey as quickly as possible what makes
you interesting and worth knowing”.
“First
impressions are made quickly and endure as subconscious biases for a very long
time”.
“Your
primary tool for conveying who you are and making people interested is through
your stories”.
“When
someone’s getting to know you, and you want to become friends with them, choose
a story where the details highlight your positive attributes”.
“When
telling a story, you should have three primary phases in order: the setup, the
buildup, and the payoff”.
“If
you don’t feel like you have a lot of interesting stories, a good exercise is
to take a sheet of paper and write the letters of the alphabet down the left
side. Then come up with a short description of a story that begins with each
letter”.
“There
is an important rule that must be observed during all conversations, especially
those involving banter: always give the other person an out”.
“In
every conversation you have, you should maintain eye contact eighty percent of
the time or more”.
“Studies
show that, while controlling for other variables, eye contact causes people to
like and trust each other more”.
“Your
goals in a conversation are to make sure that the other person enjoys
themselves, to allow them to learn about you, and for you to learn about them”.
“When
you’re taking conversational responsibility of a group, it is your obligation
to make sure that everyone is involved in the discussion”.
“Remember
that there’s a difference between someone liking you and someone being
impressed by you. Impressing can alienate, but you won’t run into any problems
making people like you”.
“However
you define yourself, add ‘happy and positive’ to the beginning of that
description, and be that version of yourself”.
“People
will decide how much time to spend with you primarily based on how they feel
when they’re around you”.
“One
of your top social priorities should be helping others meet their future best
friends”.
“Among
your first thoughts upon getting to know someone should be: who do I know who
would love this person? Who of the people I know would they love?”
“You
want to be the person who any of your friends can introduce to anyone they know
and be sure that it will make them look good”.
“Choose
friends not because of what they can do for you, but because you love who they
are”.
“One
easy way too stand out is to find positive attributes that most people don’t
have and then build them”.
“Be
extremely vigilant about when you tell someone that you’re going to do
something. Make it a personal goal to follow up as soon as possible and to
never fail to do it”.
“If
you are consistently honest, even at the risk of inviting disagreement, your
friends can trust everything you say, including the good things”.
“Honesty
takes bravery because it makes you vulnerable to criticism from others”.
“A
leader has one main function: to further the interests of the group”.
Copy
should be urgent, unique, ultra-specific and useful.
Your
performance as a copywriter is based on sales generated, not originality.
The Five Big Ideas
For
copy to convince the customer to buy a product or service it must get
attention, communicate and persuade
“The
word free is the most powerful word in the copywriter’s vocabulary.”
Four
out of five readers will read the headline and skip the rest of the ad.
“When
writing testimonial copy, use the customer’s own words as much as possible.
Don’t polish his statements; a natural, conversational tone adds believability
to the testimonial.”
Ask
yourself, “Who is my customer? What are the important features of the product?
Why will the customer want to buy the product? (What product feature is most
important to him?)”
The
Copywriter’s Handbook Summary
“A
copywriter is a salesperson behind a typewriter.” – Judith Charles
For
copy to convince the consumer to buy the product, it must do three things:
Get
attention
Communicate
Persuade
Your
headline can perform four different tasks:
Get
attention
Select
the audience
Deliver
a complete message
Draw
the reader into the body copy
“The
word free is the most powerful word in the copywriter’s vocabulary.”
Powerful
attention-getting words:
How
to
Why
Sale
Quick
Easy
Bargain
Last
chance
Guarantee
Results
Proven
Save
“Grade
your performance as a copywriter on sales generated by your copy, not on originality.”
“When
you write a headline, get attention by picking out an important customer
benefit and presenting it in a clear, bold, dramatic fashion. Avoid headlines
and concepts that are cute, clever, and titillating but irrelevant. They may
generate some hoopla, but they do not sell.”
“According
to David Ogilvy, four out of five readers will read the headline and skip the
rest of the ad.”
“Ogilvy
recommends that you include the selling promise and the brand name in the
headline.”
“Remember,
as a copywriter, you are not a creative artist; you are a salesperson. Your job
is not to create literature; your job is to persuade people to buy the
product.”
“When
writing testimonial copy, use the customer’s own words as much as possible.
Don’t polish his statements; a natural, conversational tone adds believability
to the testimonial.”
The
“4 U’s” Copywriting Formula
Urgent.
“Urgency gives the reader a reason to act now instead of later. You can create
a sense of urgency in your headline by incorporating a time element. A sense of
urgency can also be created with a time-limited special offer, such as a
discount or premium if you order by a certain date.”
Unique.
“The powerful headline either says something new, or if it says something the
reader has heard before, says it in a new and fresh way.”
Ultra-specific.
“Boardroom, a newsletter publisher, is the absolute master of ultra-specific
bullets, known as ‘fascinations,’ that tease the reader into reading further
and ordering the product.”
Useful.
“The strong subject line appeals to the reader’s self-interest by offering a
benefit.”
“When
you have written your headline, ask yourself how strong it is in each of the 4
U’s. Use a scale of 1 to 4 (1 = weak, 4 = strong) to rank it in each category.”
Questions
to Ask Yourself
Who
is my customer?
What
are the important features of the product?
Why
will the customer want to buy the product? (What product feature is most
important to him?)
11
Tips for Writing Clear Copy
1.
Put the Reader First
“Think
of the reader. Ask yourself: Will the reader understand what I have written?
Does he know the special terminology I have used? Does my copy tell her
something important or new or useful? If I were the reader, would this copy
persuade me to buy the product?”
“One
technique to help you write for the reader is to address the reader directly as
‘you’ in the copy, just as I am writing to you in this book. Copywriters call
this the ‘you-orientation’”.
2.
Carefully Organize Your Selling Points
“When
you write your copy, you must carefully organize the points you want to make.”
“The
headline states the main selling proposition, and the first few paragraphs
expand on it. Secondary points are covered later in the body copy. If this copy
is lengthy, each secondary point may get a separate heading or number.”
“The
organization of your selling points depends on their relative importance, the
amount of information you give the reader, and the type of copy you are writing
(letter, ad, commercial, or news story).”
“Tell
them what you’re going to tell them. Tell them. And then, tell them what you
told them.” – Terry C. Smith
“Before
you create an ad or mailer, write down your sales points. Organize them in a
logical, persuasive, clear fashion. And present them in this order when you write
your copy.”
3.
Break the Writing into Short Sections
“If
the content of your ad can be organized as a series of sales points, you can
cover each point in a separate section of copy.”
“If
there is no particular order of importance or logical sequence between the
sales points, use graphic devices such as bullets, asterisks, or dashes to set
off each new section. If you have a lot of copy under each section, use
subheads (as I’ve done in this book).”
“Paragraphs
should also be kept short. Long, unbroken chunks of type intimidate readers.”
“When
you edit your copy, use subheads to separate major sections. Leave space
between paragraphs. And break long paragraphs into short paragraphs. A
paragraph of five sentences can usually be broken into two or three shorter
paragraphs by finding places where a new thought or idea is introduced and
beginning the new paragraph with that thought.”
4.
Use Short Sentences
“(D.
H. Menzel) found that sentences became difficult to understand beyond a length
of about 34 words.”
“To
make your writing flow, vary sentence length. By writing an occasional short
sentence or sentence fragment, you can reduce the average sentence length of
your copy to an acceptable length even if you frequently use lengthy
sentences.”
“Train
yourself to write in crisp, short sentences. When you have finished a thought,
stop. Start the next sentence with a new thought. When you edit, your pencil
should automatically seek out places where a long string of words can be broken
in two.”
5.
Use Simple Words
“In
advertising copy, you are trying to communicate with people, not impress them
or boost your own ego. Avoid pompous words and fancy phrases.”
“Small
words are better than big words whether you’re writing to farmers or
physicists, fishermen or financiers.”
6.
Avoid Technical Jargon
“Don’t
use jargon when writing to an audience that doesn’t speak your special
language.”
“Don’t
use a technical term unless 95 percent or more of your readers will understand
it.”
“Don’t
use a technical term unless it precisely communicates your meaning.”
7.
Be Concise
“Unnecessary
words waste the reader’s time, dilute the sales message, and take up space that
could be put to better use.”
“Rewriting
is the key to producing concise copy.”
“Avoid
redundancies, run-on sentences, wordy phrases, the passive voice, unnecessary
adjectives, and other poor stylistic habits that take up space but add little
to meaning or clarity.”
8.
Be Specific
9.
Go Straight to the Point
“If
the headline is the most important part of an ad, then the lead paragraph is
surely the second most important part.”
“Start
selling with the very first line of copy.”
“The
finished copy should sell from the first word to the last.”
10.
Write in a Friendly, Conversational Style
“People
enjoy reading clear, simple, easy-to-understand writing. And the simplest,
clearest style is to write the way you talk.”
“John
Louis DiGaetani recommends this simple test for conversational tone: ‘As you
revise, ask yourself if you would ever say to your reader what you are writing.
Or imagine yourself speaking to the person instead of writing.’”
11.
Avoid Sexist Language
“Copywriters
must avoid sexist language. Like it or not, sexist language offends a large
portion of the population, and you don’t sell things to people by getting them
angry at you.”
###
“Ending
a sentence with a preposition adds to the conversational tone of the copy.”
“Sentence
fragments help keep your average sentence length to a respectable number of
words. And sentence fragments can add drama and rhythm to your copy.”
“Beginning
a sentence with and, or, but, or for makes for a smooth, easy transition
between thoughts.”
“An
occasional one-sentence paragraph provides a change of pace that can liven up a
piece of copy.”
“Highlighting
and underlining can make words and phrases stand out in print advertising and
promotion as well as in schoolbooks. Many readers skim copy without reading it
carefully, so an underline or highlight can be useful in calling out key words,
phrases, paragraphs, and selling points.”
“One
of the most effective techniques for writing subscription copy is to present
the publication’s content as a list of bulleted items, e.g., ‘7 ways to reduce
your heating bill this winter.’”
“Be
specific about the problem; be vague and mysterious about the solution. Plus,
do it with a twist, hook, or unusual angle.”
Before
you release copy to the client or the art department, ask yourself these
questions:
Does
the copy fulfill the promise of the headline?
Is
the copy interesting?
Is
it easy to read?
Is
it believable?
Is
it persuasive?
Is
it specific?
Is
it concise?
Is
it relevant?
Does
it flow smoothly?
Does
it call for action?
“The
first step in writing copy that sells is to write about benefits and not about
features.”
“A
feature is a descriptive fact about a product or service; it’s what the product
is or has. A benefit is what the product does; it’s what the user of the
product or service gains as a result of the feature.”
“According
to AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action), the copy must first get the
reader’s attention, then create an interest in the product, then turn that
interest into a strong desire to own the product, and finally ask the reader to
buy the product or take some other action that will eventually lead to a sale.”
“In
ACCA (Awareness, Comprehension, Conviction, Action), consumers are first made
aware that the product exists. Then they must comprehend what the product is
and what it will do for them. After comprehension, the readers must be
convinced to buy the product. And finally, they must take action and actually
make the purchase.”
“The
copywriter creates a picture of what the product can do for the reader,
promises the picture will come true if the reader buys the product, proves what
the product has done for others, and pushes for immediate action.”
“The
Motivating Sequence”
1.
Get Attention
“This
is the job of the headline and the visual. The headline should focus on the
single strongest benefit you can offer the reader.”
2.
Show a Need
“The
second step of writing copy that sells, then, is to show the reader why she
needs the product.”
3.
Satisfy the Need and Position Your Product as a Solution to the Problem
“Once
you’ve convinced the reader that he has a need, you must quickly show him that your
product can satisfy his need, answer his questions, or solve his problems.”
4.
Prove Your Product Can Do What You Say It Can Do
“It
isn’t enough to say you can satisfy the reader’s needs—you’ve got to prove you
can.”
5.
Ask for Action
“The
last step in any piece of copy should always be a call for action.”
“False
logic, a term coined by my friend, master copywriter Michael Masterson, is copy
that, through skillful writing, manipulates (but does not lie about or
misrepresent) existing facts. The objective: to help readers come to
conclusions that these facts, presented without the twists of the copywriter’s
pen, might not otherwise support.”
“According
to Reeves, there are three requirements for a USP (and I am quoting, in the
italics, from Reality in Advertising):
Each
advertisement must make a proposition to the consumer. Each must say, ‘Buy this
product, and you will get this specific benefit.’
The
proposition must be one that the competition either cannot, or does not, offer.
The
proposition must be so strong that it can move the mass millions, i.e., pull
over new customers to your product.
“One
popular method is to differentiate your product or service from the competition
based on a feature that your product or service has and they don’t.”
“Malcolm
D. MacDougall, former president and creative director of SSC&B, says there
are four ways to advertise seemingly similar products:
Stress
an underpublicized or little-known benefit.
Dramatize
a known benefit in a compelling fashion.
Dramatize
the product name or package.
Build
long-term brand personalities.
“Study
your list of product features and benefits. Then look at the competition’s ads.
Is there an important benefit that they have ignored, one you can embrace as
the Unique Selling Proposition that sets your product apart from all others?”
“The
secondary promise is a lesser benefit that the product also delivers.”
“Your
copy should reach prospects on three levels: intellectual, emotional, and
personal.”
To
reach your prospects on all three levels—intellectual, emotional, and
personal—you must understand what copywriter Michael Masterson calls the
buyer’s “Core Complex.” These are the emotions, attitudes, and aspirations that
drive them, as represented by the BFD formula, which stands for beliefs,
feelings, and desires.
Beliefs.
What does your audience believe? What is their attitude toward your product and
the problems or issues it addresses?
Feelings.
How do they feel? Are they confident and brash? Nervous and fearful? What do
they feel about the major issues in their lives, businesses, or industries?
Desires.
What do they want? What are their goals? What change do they want in their
lives that your product can help them achieve?
“Before
you write your copy, it’s a good idea to review the reasons why people might
want to buy your product.”
22
Reasons Why People Might Buy Your Product
To
be liked
To
be appreciated
To
be right
To
feel important
To
make money
To
save money
To
save time
To
make work easier
To
be secure
To
be attractive
To
be sexy
To
be comfortable
To
be distinctive
To
be happy
To
have fun
To
gain knowledge
To
be healthy
To
gratify curiosity
For
convenience
Out
of fear
Out
of greed
Out
of guilt
“The
more expensive a product is, the more copy you generally need to sell it.”
“Copy
that sells the product directly off the printed page or screen (known as
“one-step” or “mail-order” copy) usually has to be long, because it must
present all product information and overcome all objections.”
“People
who are pressed for time, such as busy executives and professionals, often
respond better to short copy.”
“Products
that people need (a refrigerator, a fax machine) can be sold with short copy
because . . . well, the prospect has to buy them. Products that people want but
don’t have to buy (exercise videos, self-help audio programs, financial
newsletters) must be “sold,” and require long copy to do so.”
“Short
copy works well with products the prospect is already familiar with and
understands.”
How
to Write Persuasive, Fact-Filled Copy for Your Clients
Step
1: Get All Previously Published Material on the Product
“You
should spend a lot of time printing out and reading the client’s Web site, or
at least the pages pertaining to the product you are promoting.”
“By
studying this background material, the copywriter should have 90 percent of the
information he or she needs to write the copy.”
Step
2: Ask Questions About the Product
What
are its features and benefits? (Make a complete list.)
Which
benefit is the most important?
How
is the product different from the competition’s? (Which features are exclusive?
Which are better than the competition’s?)
If
the product isn’t different, what attributes can be stressed that haven’t been
stressed by the competition?
What
technologies does the product compete against?
What
are the applications of the product?
What
problems does the product solve in the marketplace?
How
is the product positioned against competing products?
How
does the product work?
How
reliable is the product? How long will it last?
How
efficient is the product?
How
economical?
How
much does it cost?
Is
it easy to use? Easy to maintain?
Who
has bought the product and what do they say about it?
What
materials, sizes, and models is it available in?
How
quickly does the manufacturer deliver the product?
If
they don’t deliver, how and where can you buy it?
What
service and support does the manufacturer offer?
Is
the product guaranteed?
Step
3: Ask Questions About Your Audience
Who
will buy the product? (What markets is it sold to?)
What
exactly does the product do for them?
Why
do they need the product? And why do they need it now?
What
is the customer’s main concern when buying this type of product (price,
delivery, performance, reliability, service, maintenance, quality, efficiency,
availability)?
What
is the character of the buyer? What type of person is the product being sold
to?
What
motivates the buyer?
How
many different buying influences must the copy appeal to? (A toy ad, for
example, must appeal to both the parent and the child.)
“If
you are writing an ad, read issues of the magazines in which the ad will
appear.”
“If
you are writing direct mail, find out what mailing lists will be used and study
the list descriptions.”
Step
4: Determine the Objective of Your Copy
This
objective may be one or more of the following:
To
generate inquiries
To
generate sales
To
answer inquiries
To
qualify prospects
To
generate store traffic
To
introduce a new product or an improvement of an old product
To
keep in touch with prospects and customers
To
transmit news or product information
To
build brand recognition and preference
To
build company image
To
provide marketing tools for salespeople
Here
are 10 criteria that an ad must satisfy if it is to be successful as a selling
tool:
The
headline contains an important consumer benefit, or news, or arouses curiosity,
or promises a reward for reading the copy
The
visual (if you use a visual) illustrates the main benefit stated in the
headline
The
lead paragraph expands on the theme of the headline
The
layout draws readers into the ad and invites them to read the body copy
The
body copy covers all important sales points in logical sequence
The
copy provides the information needed to convince the greatest number of
qualified prospects to take the next step in the buying process
When
you sit down to write your ad, ask yourself: “What do I want the reader to do?
And what can I tell him that will get him to do it?”
Through The Language Glass explains how the language you speak fundamentally alters your reality and how nature, culture and language have all been intertwined all throughout history.
Guy Deutscher is an Israeli linguist, who’s dedicating his
life to the critical investigation of the origins of human language. There are
two main camps in language theory: the nativists, who argue that language
evolved mainly due to our anatomy changing (for example our eyes getting better
at recognizing colors) and the culturalists, who believe language is a
reflection of societal circumstances.
Prior to Guy’s book, your opinion was mostly a matter of
choosing sides. Now, however, there’s a third option: that both are right, and
that we need a new theory altogether.
After researching the work of many great linguists before
him, Guy Deutscher arrived at some interesting conclusions about how language
really shapes our perception of the world.
Here are 3 lessons you can learn from looking through the
language glass:
You can estimate how connected a society is by looking at
the complexity of its language’s grammar.
Language changes how we think, depending on the rules it
gives us.
Nouns with genders are one way in which language shapes our
perception of the world.
Ready to learn more about how you think, based on what you
say? Here we go!
Lesson 1: You can see how close-knit a society is, based on
the grammatical complexity of its language.
It’s impossible to say whether one language is more
difficult to learn than another. German and Chinese, for example, have a
reputation of being hard to pick up, but in reality, this highly depends on
what languages you already speak.
A lot of Dutch people speak excellent German, for example,
because it’s not that different from their native language, and it’s sure
easier for Asians to learn Chinese, than for Americans, who haven’t even got
similar sounds that they’re used to in English.
What you can say though, is how complex an aspect of a
certain language is, for example its grammatical structure. When Guy did this,
he found out that the complexity of a given language’s grammar often reflects
its social structure.
In general, the more complex a society gets, the simpler its
word and grammatical structure becomes.
This happens because as societies get bigger, more
interactions between strangers occur, and people often have to pass on
information without having much context about who they’re talking to. More
words, specific phrases, dialects and accents are the consequence of this, to
make it easier to establish that context with a targeted set of words.
For example, in the sentence “the two went back there” the
word “there” refers to a physical location 99% of the time. But in the language
of a small island society, “there” might be used not just for places, but also
for events, people or even a certain time. If everyone knows each other and the
shared context and information is huge, it’s easy to infer which of the four
meanings the word takes on, but if you’re talking to a stranger, that might not
be specific enough.
Lesson 2: Depending on what language requires us to say, our
thinking changes.
These grammatical rules not just affect how easily we can
pass on information, but also how we think in the first place, because they
change the requirements the words we speak have to meet.
For example, it’s absolutely normal to say “it rains” in
English, but in Hebrew, there’s no verb for “raining” as an activity. They just
say the equivalent of “the rain falls.” Similarly, the ancient Nootka tribe of
Vancouver Island has no way of saying “the stone falls.” Instead, they have a
verb for that, saying “it stones down.”
The rules of a language change how you express ideas and how
you express ideas changes how you think.
Take German, Spanish, or French, for example, all languages
in which the gender of nouns for living things is specified within the noun. If
I say “mein Mitbewohner” (my roommate) in German, this male version instantly
tells the listener that I’m talking about a guy – something you wouldn’t be
able to tell from the English version “my roommate,” which is gender neutral
and requires more explanation.
Lesson 3: People, who speak languages with gendered nouns,
perceive the world a lot differently, depending on those genders.
Interestingly, this effect doesn’t stop at living things. In
fact, German has three different noun markers: male, female and neutral, and
every noun in the language is assigned one of the three. Spanish only has male
and female, and sometimes, the two languages use a different one for the same
noun.
For example, the word “bridge” is female in German (“die
Brücke”) while it is male in Spanish (“el puente”). When researcher Toshi
Konishi investigated how this changes peoples’ perception of the described item
in the 9os, he found that the adjectives people used to describe a bridge
matched the gender of the word in both languages. Germans would say bridges are
beautiful, fragile, slender and peaceful, while Spanish people might think that
same bridge is dangerous, sturdy, long and big.
This even affects how well you can remember the thing in
question, for example a “Barbara bridge” would be easier for Germans to keep in
mind, as it’s a female name, while Spanish people could better remember a
bridge named “Bernardo.”
My personal take-aways
This was sure an out-of-the-box read! I had some
real aha moments here. Considering most people speak over 15,000 words per day
(!), it’d sure be wise to learn more about how your language changes what
happens in your brain and what comes out of your mouth, don’t you think? A good
read
TED Talks is an instruction manual to become a great public speaker and deliver talks that are unforgettable, based on over 15 years worth of experience of the head of TED, the most popular speaking platform in the world.
Chris Anderson’s had his ups and downs. Riding the
entrepreneurial wave all the way through the dot-com bust where he built
Imagine Media and a little website called IGN. At its peak, his company
employed over 2,000 people. And then the bubble burst. For about 18 months,
Chris saw his bank account decline by about $1 million – a day!
Having founded a private non-profit organization a few years
before, Chris decided to go all in to that – and bought the existing TED
conference in 2001, leaving his prior company to take care of it full time.
The abbreviation stands for Technology, Entertainment and
Design and the conference is held annually in Vancouver, Canada, with TEDx
being independently organized events under the franchise, which happen all over
the world. Since 2006, all talks have been put online at TED.com, where they’ve
been viewed over one billion times by 2012, including many famous speakers,
such as Bill Clinton, Bono, Bill Gates,
Larry Page and many nobel-prize winners.
In this book, Chris lays out his recipe for great public
speaking, crafted from over 15 years of working with people to deliver
world-class speeches about ideas worth spreading.
Here are 3 lessons learned from TED Talks:
Make eye contact and show that you’re human by being vulnerable.
Use a five step process to explain complex ideas.
Think about what to wear, but not too much – make it comfy!
Want to overcome the #1 fear of humans? Let’s do this!
Lesson 1: Pick a few people in the audience to make eye
contact with and show your vulnerability.
Every audience, every talk is different. Even if you use the
same slides and deliver the same speech 100 times, it’s never quite exactly the
same. The people will always be different, so of course you have to adapt to
changing audiences.
Some things, however, help with any public speech. Two of
these things, according to Chris, are:
Making eye contact.
Showing that you’re vulnerable by sharing something
personal.
Both of these things are aimed at making your talk more
personal. The reason it needs to be, is that we tend not to trust strangers to
protect our own worldview. But if you open up and show others your human side,
you’ll disarm the audience, gain their trust and they’ll be more receptive to
your ideas.
People can often tell truth from lies and confidence from
nervousness just by looking at your eyes, so taking their gaze head on earns
you their trust. And if you let down your guard by turning red or sharing a
personal story, so will those listening to you.
Only then do you have a real shot at delivering a
life-changing speech.
Lesson 2: Explain complex ideas in five steps.
Over the years, Chris has watched, organized and prepared
hundreds of TED talks, some of which tackle very complicated topics. Those,
that are successful in getting their ideas across to listeners, follow a simple
five-step process, says Chris. Let’s look at what this would look like if you
tried to explain willpower.
Find your audience’s starting point. You need some common
ground, something to make your talk relevant to everyone in the room. To do
this with a topic like willpower, you could start with: “Man, I’m glad I’m the
first speaker of the day, because since all human willpower is limited, you
couldn’t pay attention to me if I was the last one, even if you wanted to.”
Make them curious. Give them an interesting fact or mental
image, for example by saying that their willpower works like a soda dispenser:
the more decisions you make, the less you have left.
Go over your concepts one at a time. Don’t tell them all at
once about how food, exercise and motivation affect willpower. Take it one idea
after another.
Use metaphors. An empty willpower tank is like a discharged battery.
By tying new ideas to well-established ones, you help people understand your
points.
Give lots of examples. This’ll make your speech vivid and
memorable. For example if you tell them the story of how you went grocery
shopping hungry after a long day at work and bought a lot of candy, because you
couldn’t resist, they have something to explain willpower to their friends
with, after your talk ends.
Pretty straightforward, right? So is dressing for the
occasion, by the way.
Lesson 3: Make sure what you’re wearing is comfortable and
reflects who you are.
Here’s your dress code for any public speech you ever do in
one line: Wear what makes you feel comfortable.
Sure, picking an outfit deserves some thought, but it’s
definitely not worth stressing out over. Just ask if there’s a dress code at
the event already, because sticking to it is the easiest way to pick an outfit,
and makes sure you won’t stand out like a sore thumb, because you’re wearing
orange when everyone else wears black (which makes people judge you as a
weirdo, before you even open your mouth).
If there isn’t, just be sure to wear neither all black or
all white in case your talk is recorded, because you’ll look like a floating
head or light bulb, respectively.
Other than that, if you feel awesome in a suit, wear that,
and if you’re comfortable in a t-shirt and jeans, then go for it. Feeling
comfortable on a stage is hard enough as it is, and your outfit is a big part
of that – no dress code in the world is worth giving that up.
My personal take-aways
There’s a reason for the format TED talks are in. The stage,
the lighting, the red dot, the 18-minute time limit, they designed it this way
on purpose. It’s safe to assume that Chris knows what makes for a good talk, so
if you’re in a position where you have to (or want to) present to an audience
one day, then grab yourself a copy of this one!
Talk Like TED has analyzed over 500 of the most popular TED talks to help you integrate the three most common features of them, novelty, emotions, and being memorable, into your own presentations and make you a better speaker.
Carmine Gallo is a communications coach and speaker, who
left the world of TV news, where he was a journalist and anchor, in 2009 to
focus on speaking, consulting, and writing books.
His most popular books are about Apple’s late CEO Steve
Jobs, and analyze his way of communicating and presenting. Talk Like TED is his
newest book, where he breaks down what makes the most popular TED talks so
great.
These are the 3 lessons I learned from reading the summary:
Persuasive presentations have logos, ethos and pathos.
You can make your presentation memorable by sharing extreme
moments and novel statistics.
The ideal presentation is 18 minutes long and covers 3
topics.
Let’s get cracking!
Lesson 1: Persuasive presentations have logos, ethos and
pathos.
After learning a lot about what influences and persuades
people yesterday, today we’re taking it to the next level. Gallo says that
communicating in a persuasive way can be traced back all the way to Aristotle.
Back in ancient Greece he established 3 modes of persuasion:
ethos, logos and pathos.
Ethos is about who the speaker is, and how much of a
credible source he or she is to talk about the topic.
For example a college professor for health psychology has a
much easier time talking about willpower than a high school student – you’d
simply trust the professor more because of their authority.
But you can also just demonstrate that you have mastered the
topic of your TED talk by showing statistics, or benefit from being introduced
by another authority in your field.
Logos is how convincing you can make your argument by
backing it up with data. Statistics, facts, research findings, credible
sources, all of these will help you make your point, and further enhance your
ethos as well.
Pathos is the last, but most important of the 3. It is about
establishing an emotional connection between you and your audience.
Sympathy and empathy are both words, which have been derived
from the word pathos, and they are 2 great places to start. But the strongest
emotions always come from stories, which is why storytelling should be a
substantial part of all of your presentations.
Whether you share personal stories, stories from friends or how
a big brand did something really cool for their customers, keep bringing those
metaphors.
Gallo says the perfect talk consists of 65% pathos, 25%
logos and 10% ethos.
Lesson 2: Sharing extreme moments and novel statistics will
make your presentation memorable.
People have bad memory these days, so it’s your job to make
your talk unforgettable and help them remember it. Sharing extreme moments in
your story can help achieve that.
For example Scott Dinsmore told a story about an open water
swim, where he thought a child was drowning, only to find out that the kid was
disabled and had still mastered the challenge.
Similarly, Bill Gates unleashing a bunch of potentially
deadly mosquitos stuck in people’s heads for quite some time.
Another factor that helps us remember things is when the
information is new. But it doesn’t have to be actually new information, it’s
enough if you present information in a new light.
For example, it’s often hard to grasp how fast things really
grow, when we talk about exponential growth, but a really enlightening way of
explaining it is trying to fold a piece of paper to reach the moon.
Joe Smith used the same concept to teach people how to use
less paper towels, by showing the audience how we could save half a billion
pounds of paper each year, if everyone just used 1 paper towel less per day.
So think about some cool and novel stories and statistics to
spice up your presentation and your audience will remember it for a long time.
Lesson 3: Your presentation should be 18 minutes long and
cover no more than 3 topics.
We remember information not in single units, but in chunks,
which is why 24122014 is much tougher to remember than 24/12/2014.
Research has been updated from estimating we can remember up
to 7 things at once to rather 3 chunks.
That’s why your presentation should build it’s core message
around 3 topics or distinct points, which help you drive home the overall
point.
Structure it from the top and then go deeper to see which
stories and facts you can best use to convince the audience of what you have to
say.
TED talks also lie right in the middle of the ideal
presentation length of 15 to 20 minutes with an 18-minute rule, established by
the creators to get people to really condense their message and keep listeners
engaged.
My personal take-aways
If you’ve even watched so much as a single TED talk, you
probably know how addictive they are. This book not only breaks down why, but
also gives you plenty of great examples (and more talks to watch).
The whole idea of the 3 modes of persuasion was completely
new to me, and while I knew about the 18 minute rule of TED talks, I had no
idea why.
I will definitely use the extreme and novelty
approach for my next presentation or webinar,
Reading Like A Writer takes you through the various elements of world-famous literature and shows you how, by paying close attention to how great authors employ them, you can not only get a lot more from your reading, but also learn to be a better writer yourself.
Lately, I’ve been fascinated with the metaphysics of reading
and writing, for example speed reading and analytical reading. Although the
title of this book suggests it’s aimed at people, who want to write literature
themselves, it’s also beneficial for readers, since it can help you understand
the stuff you’re reading a lot better.
Published in 2006 by Francine Prose, who’s published over 30
books in both fiction and non-fiction, together with Harper Collins, this book
takes examples from over 100 pieces of tried and true literary classics and
shows you how to make sense of them.
Here are 3 lessons to help you become a better reader (and
writer):
Think of possible synonyms to understand the author’s point.
Pause after paragraphs, because they’re the most personalelement of writing.
Pay attention to action, thoughts and dialogue, since one ofthem will dominate the others.
Ready to read in the big leagues? Here comes the pep talk
you need!
Lesson 1: Try to think of synonyms the author could’ve used
to understand more.
According to the Oxford Dictionary, there are around 170,000
words, currently used in the English language. Google says it’s over a million.
It of course depends on what counts as a word and what is commonly used (as
opposed to just being mentioned a few times in a narrow context).
Regardless, choosing words is hard, and it’s what authors
spend most, if not all of their time on. Therefore, you can bet there’s a
reason behind every single one they chose.
Take the first sentence of The Alchemist, for example:
“The boy’s name was Santiago.” – Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
Coelho didn’t say “There was a boy named Santiago.” or
“Santiago was a boy.” He said “The boy’s name…”, which instantly tells you
something about the perspective of the book and narrator: she’s someone with a
lot of information to share, but is in a position somewhat distant to the
book’s events. Using “The” also indicates that Santiago will be a piece in a
big puzzle, more likely to be reacting to what’s going to happen, as opposed to
proactively doing things on his own accord.
A great exercise is to try and think of synonyms the author
could’ve used, for example why someone would say treasure instead of gold,
creature instead of bird or hasten instead of rush.
This will help you understand the point the writer is trying
to make and get in his head as to why he made the word choices he did.
Lesson 2: Take a breath after each paragraph to learn more
about the writer’s personality.
If you’re Sherlock Holmes, trying to unravel the mystery of
three novels by three authors, which sound awkwardly familiar, and are the
cause of a copyright lawsuit, here’s where you should start looking at: paragraphs.
Why paragraphs?
In a paragraph, all the emphasis lies on the first and last
few words. Therefore, every paragraph instantly tells you what the author
thinks is important. It’s like listening to someone talk and paying attention
to which words they pronounce more clearly, slowly, and maybe even repeat for
emphasis.
The best way to catch these accents of importance and
reflect on them is to think of paragraphs as literary breathing guides. When
you start a new one, you slowly breathe in and then gradually exhale as you
read on and on, before coming to a full exhale upon the last word.
Breathing in sync with paragraphs will give your reading a
nice rhythm, and also show you what makes a good paragraph: too many one-liners
and you’ll feel hectic and breathe shallowly, too many drawn out walls of text
and you’ll hardly be able to catch your breath.
Pretty cool, huh?
Lesson 3: Actions, thoughts and dialogue reveal characters’
intentions, but one will likely overshadow the others.
What makes characters in books come alive are the same
things that determine how our own lives unfold: what we think, what we say and
what we do.
You might think that having to pay attention to what
characters think about, how they talk and which words they choose and how they
handle their lives and the book’s events might be obvious, but it reveals a lot
about how writers approach writing stories and telling their message.
For example, The Little Prince is based almost entirely on
dialogue. The prince has encountered many strange people on his journey, and
talking to them has led him to new insights. As the prince then recounts his
own story to the man in the desert, the latter again draws conclusions based on
those, which he shares with the reader, also by directly talking to him.
Other books, like Harry Potter, focus a lot more on the main
character’s thoughts and internal workings and the actions that they take based
on them.
Look at the mix of actions, thoughts and dialogues in the
books you read, and you’ll see beneath the characters’ and author’s surface –
maybe it’ll inspire you to write your own.
My personal take-aways
Totally fascinated by this stuff. Can’t wait to learn more
about it. The cool thing about improving even just one tiny thing in how you
read is that it lasts forever and makes all your future reading better because
of it. I highly recommend learning more about these topics, and this book is a
great place to start!
Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t combines countless lessons Steven Pressfield has learned from succeeding as a writer in advertising, the movie industry, fiction, non-fiction, and self-help, in order to help you write like a pro.
This is the best book I’ve read about writing so far. With a
50-year writing career under his belt, Steven Pressfield sure has a thing or
two to share about what makes a good sentence, paragraph and book. What’s more,
since he’s succeeded in various fields, you’ll learn to approach from various
angles.
Sometimes, you need to think like a marketer or screenwriter,
other times you’d best wear your novelist hat. Pressfield delivers 119 lessons
in his usual, clear-cut, no-BS, witty style, which have already changed my
writing style several times over this year. I feel like it’s helped me
constantly learn as I write, because it’s a form of deliberate practice.
In today’s world, this is more important than ever. Your
writing can never become stale, because what writing succeeds changes every
day. Hence, the following 3 lessons will help you stay relevant for years to
come:
If you don’t have a concept, don’t start writing.
Find the problem your text solves and it’ll be easier to get it on paper.
Break everything you write into three parts: beginning,middle and end.
Ready to fix the sobering fact that Nobody Wants to Read
Your Sh*t? Here we go!
Lesson 1: Every piece of writing must have a concept.
Steve started his writing career as a copywriter when he was
19. One of the first things he learned in the world of slogans is that each
campaign must put a unique spin on an existing idea. Everyone hates commercials
and most people even hate reading, so whatever you float in front of their eyes
better cause strong emotions.
Whether the reaction is “interesting,” “outrageous,” or
“wow,” the perspective you provide has to temporarily shut out all other
perspectives by approaching a known issue from a completely different angle. An
example Steve makes is that number two players in big industries, like fast
food, the soda market or rental cars, can turn their silver medal into gold by
embracing it. That’s why 7Up calls itself the “uncola” and Avis promises to
“try harder.”
In the same vein, when diamonds were first marketed as a
token of eternal love, this allowed them to displace all other rare commodities
in the jewelry market. After all, if you’re not proposing to someone you’ll
love forever, what the hell are you doing?
Before you write the first line, come up with a concept.
Lesson 2: Writers solve problems.
Thousands of hours of writer’s block are caused around the
world each and every single day by two seemingly simple questions:
What do I write about?
How am I going to say what I want to say?
Much Resistance can be eliminated by replacing those two
with one, much simpler question: What’s the problem here? When you think of
your writing as a way to solve a problem, you’re well on your way towards the
solution, because the solution always lies within the problem itself.
For example, the problem of the companies we talked about
was that their product was good, but not selling as much as their main
competitor. Once you see you’re trailing behind, you can think about what to do
with that. You could openly admit it and state how you plan to win, or distance
yourself from playing that game altogether.
All writing solves problems, whether it shows us how to make
a lasagna in seven easy steps or transforms our sense of self through an epic,
700-page journey. Figure out the problem and you’ll find the solution.
Lesson 3: Three-act structure applies to all writing.
Boy loses his father, evil servant takes the throne, orphan
prince grows up and wins it back. That’s The Lion King. And, with a few tweaks,
a sub-plot in Lord of the Rings, Aladdin and Prince of Persia. All fantastic
stories with the exact same three-act structure. That’s how universal this idea
is.
From Aesop to Plato to Shakespeare to George R. R. Martin,
all great storytellers through the ages have used the holy trinity of writing
structure: beginning, middle and end. Steve argues that, like the Hero’s
Journey, three-act structure is how we connect with stories on the level of the
soul, and, therefore, not optional.
Whether you call it hook, build, and payoff, setup,
progression, and punchline, or beginning, middle and end, the rules remain the
same. Every story, every piece of text, must pull us in, string us along, and
then reward us with a grand finale. The first part kicks off the story and
makes us curious as to what’ll happen. The second act puts the villain on the
scene, with events getting darker and darker until, in the last act, the hero
saves the day.
This applies to fiction, non-fiction, page 17 news articles
and anything in-between. The characters can be humans, animals, or constructs
of the mind. Everything is variable, as long as you stick to the path that all
of the world’s greatest writers have followed you before.
My personal take-aways
If you’re a writer, especially a young writer, get this book. You’ll learn all the most important fundamentals you haven’t heard of, and then some. If you’ve honed your craft for a while already, and have consumed all the classics, Steve might not tell you anything new, but it’ll be a refreshing reminder of core writing concepts nonetheless. This belongs in every writer’s arsenal, in my opinion.
How To Talk To Anyone is a collection of actionable tips to help you master the art of human communication, leave great first impressions and make people feel comfortable around you in all walks of life.
One of the greatest things about knowing yourself well is
that you can tell other people how you function. Give them an instruction
manual, so to speak. One of the worst things about doing so is that they then
tend to box you in. Whenever I tell people I’m an introvert, they somehow
expect me to never leave the house. That’s nonsense, of course.
Human behavior lies on a spectrum. Always. And besides each
situation being different, you can also train yourself to change. Like Leil
Lowndes, who turned from a shy school teacher into a flight attendant, actress,
cruise director, and later even coach, talk show host and speaker! How To Talk
To Anyone is one of her many books on communication, highlighting 92 of her
best tips for being successful in human relationships.
It’s a very practical how-to guide, so let’s see some of the
specific advice she has to offer:
A seamless introduction will almost always lead to a fluent
chat.
Emulating people and empathizing with them makes it easy for
them to become your friend.
Praise is useful, but keep your most specific compliments to
family and close friends.
Ready for a rapid-fire session of quick communication hacks?
Let’s get to it!
If you want to save this summary for later, download the
free PDF and read it whenever you want.
Lesson 1: Smooth introductions tend to turn into good
conversations.
The part we sweat the most when meeting new people is always
the first ten seconds. Often, that’s the only part we’re sweating. If you’ve
ever talked to a stranger, you know this is true. Once you’ve gotten over that
initial hurdle, things usually go just fine. That’s why Leil suggests simply
skipping that first, potentially awkward part. How? By getting an introduction!
If you’re at an event, ask the host to introduce you. You’ll
both know them, which makes for an instant connection. Another option is to ask
the host for a few details about the person, which you can use to strike up a
conversation. Or just linger close by and observe their other conversations
until you can drop in. Introverts could also bring a flashy conversation
starter, like a dashing outfit or a gimmick, as well as smile, nod, and wave.
And if you’re trying to replicate this online, email
introductions work well, if a mutual acquaintance makes them. I use them all
the time. There, you can even use whatever information you find to show you’re
prepared, which is called the briefcase technique. Oh, and if you’re the host,
make sure you help your guests do the same!
Lesson 2: Mimicry and companionship are two powerful ways to
form a connection.
The easiest way to get people to like you is to keep them
talking about themselves. But while it’s nice that you don’t have to say all
that much, eventually it’ll be your turn, or maybe you love to talk too. So
what else can you do once the introduction is made? Two powerful tools, Lowndes
says, are mimicry and companionship. Here’s what she means:
First, people will subconsciously feel comfortable around
you if your and their movements are the same. If they use their hands a lot,
use yours too, and so on. Another thing I tend to do naturally is to use the
same words to describe the same things. What’s more, if you know they like
something, use vocabulary from that area, for example call them “mate” if they
enjoy sailing.
Second, showing people you’re on the same page goes a long
way. I tend to interject affirmations like “yes” and “uh-huh,” but Leil
suggests full sentences are better at achieving the same. If you can refer to
you and your conversation partner as “we” and “us,” that’s also a win. Saying
“how do you like our new cinema” puts you on the same team, an in-group, if you
will. This will also lead to in-jokes quickly, which are one of the best ways
to strengthen bonds over time.
Nothing like a running gag to keep spirits high, ain’t that
right?
Lesson 3: The better you know someone, the more specific you
should be in your praise.
One of the most common tips to get along well is to give
people compliments. That’s true, but according to Leil, there are some
misconceptions around the idea of praise, especially when it comes to when and
how to deliver it. As a rule of thumb, the more you know and appreciate someone,
the more detailed and frequent you can be in telling them.
For example, if you’re working together with someone for the
first time, tell a mutual colleague to let them know they did great. If you do
it personally, make it indirect, for example by stating their achievement as a
fact and then asking them how they did it. Or ask for their opinion, which is
something that makes us feel valued every time.
If you know someone well, like a close friend or someone
you’re keen on dating, you can commend them for their performance right after
an important event. And for the most special people in your life? Highlight
their best, specific traits you admire. Maybe it’s their sense of humor, maybe
it’s their humility, but life is short, so let those closest to you know why
you love them in many ways.
My personal take-aways
As you can tell from my summary, How To Talk To Anyone is
very practical, focused on little tricks you can try today. It’s important to
not overdo it on books like these, because you’ll drown in tactics you’ll never
employ, but the occasional experiment is very useful indeed. Give some of what
we discussed a shot and if you feel ready for more, consider getting a copy of
the book.
How To Read Literature Like A Professor shows you how to get more out of your reading, by educating you about the basics of classic literature and how authors use patterns, themes, memory and symbolism in their work to deliver their message to you.
I randomly came across this book, and found out it was
really popular. I’d love to help you read more and better, and my gears are
constantly churning how I can help you do that (hit me up if you want to hear
my product ideas so far). Summarizing this book is surely a good start.
Thomas C. Foster is an English professor (surprise), and he
uses many examples from classic books to show you how you can unlock what you
read and figure out what lies beneath the basic level of the story. This book
will not only make your reading more fun and more satisfying, you’ll also be
able to harness what your learn in a much more professional way.
Here are 3 lessons to help you master the craft of reading:
Memory, symbols, and patterns are what hide the deepermessage in any book.
One of the most common patterns is the quest structure.
Look for universal messages in books to discover whichsymbols authors use.
Want to read literature like a professor? Let’s take a
literature trip!
Lesson 1: Most books hide their message using memory,
symbols and patterns.
The majority of people falls into the category of shallow
readers. When they read books, they only pay attention to the basic story
level, but not much more. If you want to go beyond that and actually interpret
what you’re reading, Foster says there are three things you need to watch out
for.
Memory. This has happened to you for sure. You’ve read a
chapter in a book and thought: “Wait, don’t I know this scenario? Haven’t I
read about this before?” Clever readers don’t brush off that gut reaction.
Instead, they dwell on it and draw an actual comparison between what they just
read and how it’s different from a similar book they’ve read in the past.
Symbols. The scar on Harry Potter’s forehead is much more
than just a scar. Its shape, the way it hurts, the visions he has because of
it. It stands for much more than an accident, it’s a symbol, and only if you
can interpret it you’ll get the full picture of the story.
Patterns. Sometimes trivial and seemingly meaningless
details pop up again and again. Just like the story itself most often follows a
pattern, so do certain characters, items and even words people use. Authors
often use patterns to communicate hidden messages.
But spotting these and interpreting them correctly is hard,
so let’s look at two things you can do to improve.
Lesson 2: The quest structure is one of the most common
patterns in literature.
One of the most universally applied structures in novels,
which you can find anywhere in life (even in your latest trip to the grocery
store), is the quest structure. It’s sometimes also called the hero’s journey
and it always contains the five following things:
A quester
A destination
A stated reason to go
Some challenges along the way
An unexpected revelation
Take The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, for example. Santiago, a
shepherd, is the quester. His destination are the pyramids of Egypt. He says
his reason to go is that he must find his destiny and explore the vision from
his dream (about a treasure in Egypt). Of course he faces many challenges on
his journey, such as finding love, but having to leave it behind. At the end,
there’s an unexpected revelation, showing Santiago that the treasure was right
in front of him all along.
But if you run out of bread, and it becomes your reason to
go to the grocery store, a destination, you become a quester too. A challenge
might be to find a parking spot, or arrive at the store before it closes.
Eventually, you’ll unexpectedly find you still have a loaf at home after you
come back.
See, it has all the elements of a quest, even though it’s a
very trivial scenario. Now you can pay attention and find the quest structure
in other books and events!
Lesson 3: Look for universal messages in books to discover
which symbols authors use.
Do you sometimes feel like books are a rip-off? That they’re
just blatantly copying from another author? Well, actually it’s tough to find a
book that doesn’t copy from a previous one. In truth, no book is 100% original,
whether the author knows he or she is copying, or not.
This phenomenon is called intertextuality – all texts depend
on one another – and it’s a good thing! When the same ideas appear again and
again it turns them into symbols. You can then rely on interpreting them
correctly, because the same symbol usually stands for the same idea.
For example, whenever a storm is seen on the horizon, this
is usually a symbol for trouble lying ahead, whether in the form of an actual
storm or a plot twist.
Often, the hero’s home is destroyed, and he or she has to
start all over. This is usually meant to show that even in destruction, there
is a liberating power.
Ask “What’s the universal message behind this event?” as you
read, and you’ll be able to spot symbols and some of the big ideas, which have
been around for centuries.
Note: Another thing that helps you develop this skill is reading
a wide variety of books, especially classics, because these have popularized
most of the symbols we use today.
My personal take-aways
I want more of this. More reading about reading. If reading
a lot is good, then reading a lot about reading is great. Every tiny
improvement you make in how you read will be with you for the rest of your life
and therefore help you get more out of every next book you pick up.
This is highly recommended. It’s a great book and the summary on Blinkist is a very good starting point, with most of the big ideas explained well and plenty of examples.
How To Read A Book is a 1940 classic teaching you how to become a more active reader and deliberately practice the various stages of reading, in order to maximize the value you get from books.
Mortimer J. Adler was a popular American philosopher, author
and educator, who worked at various prestigious universities, like Columbia and
the University of Chicago, as well as educational institutions, like the
Encyclopædia Britannica, and his own Institute for Philosophical Research. When
he died in 2001 (aged exactly 98 and a half years old), he left behind a
massive body of work in service of making philosophy more accessible to the
masses.
One of his most popular pieces is this book, which teaches
you how to get the most out of reading non-fiction, for example when you have
to for school, work, or just plain want to get smarter. It dissects reading
into its various stages and shows you how to think about information
critically.
Here are my 3 main takeaways from the book:
Always inspect books before you read them.
Analyze a book’s main theme and the author’s intentions to
get the big picture.
Question every book’s importance and logic.
Do you want to hone your reading skill so you’ll get more
out of every future book you read? Let’s get to it!
Lesson 1: Do an inspectional read every time you want to
pick up a new book.
Most people want to save time on books by learning how to speed
read. I always tell them not to. To be okay with reading slowly. The one thing
I’ve learned about saving time on books is that it doesn’t happen while
reading. Where you save time is in deciding what you’ll read in the first
place.
Sadly, a lot of non-fiction books don’t really warrant being
read from cover to cover, and this is where what Mortimer J. Adler calls
inspectional reading comes in.
The goal of an inspectional read is to answer two questions:
What is this book about?
What kind of book is this?
You can do this by skim-reading the following sections:
The title page.
The editor’s blurb.
The cover text.
The table of contents.
Introductory sections and important paragraphs of chapters
that interest you.
After you’ve done that, you’ll have a pretty good idea of
whether this book deserves your full attention. If you do decide to read it
cover to cover, read it entirely, but don’t look up things you don’t
understand. This is what slows you down and makes a book painful to get
through. Even without understanding everything, knowing what the entirety of
the text is about will help you dig deeper into these things later.
Lesson 2: Try to find the main theme and author’s intentions
by analyzing a book in detail.
This is where analytical reading comes in. Once you’ve read
the book, you can really analyze it. This is where taking notes, highlighting,
summarizing and thinking long and hard about the content become your tools of
the trade.
First, you should answer this question: “What was the
author’s aim when he or she decided to write a book with this title?”
Looking at the title will not only make it dead-simple for
you to categorize the book, for example into maths, history, how-to or
self-help, but remembering the main goal of the book will later help you
connect complex ideas back to the overarching theme.
Then, you can go on to unravel the book’s main theme, by
trying to summarize its content in a few sentences and writing down all the
different themes and sub-plots. It’ll help a lot to create a mindmap of how
those relate to each other, so you can see how the various parts of the book
relate to each other and the whole.
For example, A Christmas Carol is set in five staves. You
could summarize it briefly by saying first, Scrooge is visited by the ghost of
his former business partner and warned about his future. Then, he’s shown the
past, present and future by three ghosts, which causes him to change and go
from greedy miser to generous giver.
In an x-ray, this plot would resemble the bones of the book,
whereas the exact structure, potential sub-plots and other, recurring themes
would be more like the book’s flesh. Important too, but useless if you don’t
know what’s going on underneath.
Lesson 3: Ask more questions about books, critically
thinking about their importance and logic.
Inspectional and analytical reading help you read more
selectively and to understand what you read better. However, the most important
lesson about reading books in general, I think, is this: Always question a
book’s significance and logic.
Even if you select well, it does you no good to remember the
content of a book that’s irrelevant, and even if you’ve understood everything
correctly, that means nothing if the book’s logic is inherently flawed.
After you close and put down a book, ask these two things:
“Is this true?” and if it is,
“So what?“
Checking the book’s logic should come first, because if it
doesn’t hold up, it’s obviously irrelevant. You can do that by checking if
there are contradictory statements at different points in the book, if
arguments are left incomplete, or if the book somehow fails to answer the main
questions it poses.
Then, you can go on to criticize the book, but only if
you’ve understood it well and aren’t emotional about it. For example, just today
someone who’s vegan said my critic review of a book about a vegan diet was
opinionated – which is of course an opinionated statement in itself, since he
obviously felt emotionally offended by my review – not a good basis for
judgement.
Don’t disagree on principle and don’t agree because it
“feels right” – make up your own, objective mind, and then decide.
My personal take-aways
We’ve done a fair share of learning how to read faster, smarter and even like a writer. This helps you with the first two of these three things – highly recommended!
