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You may not know this – but your nonverbal communication plays a big role in how persuasive you are.

That’s right.

Your body gestures, movements, tone of voice, touch, distance from the person, eye contact, and physical appearance can make you more or less persuasive.

Here are 9 nonverbal ways to dramatically increase your persuasive power:

1. Touching
There have been countless studies on the power of touch – and its effectiveness on persuasion. Jacob Hornick (1992) studied waiters and waitresses who touched and didn’t touch diners during their meals. Touching not only increased tips significantly, it also caused customers to evaluate the restaurant more favorably. Interestingly, attractive waitresses who touched female customers received the highest tips of all. Other studies have shown that customers in bars drank significantly more alcohol when touched by cocktail waitresses (Kaufman and Mahoney, 1999). Burgoon, Walther, and Baesler (1992) found that touch carries favorable interpretations of immediacy, affection, similarity, and relaxation.

2. Smiling
There have been dozens of studies showing the persuasive power of smiling; for example: waitresses earn more tips (Gueguen & Fischer-Lokou, 2004), job interviewers create positive impressions (Washburn & Hakel, 1973) and more likely to get the job (Forbes & Jackson, 1980), and even students accused of cheating are treated with greater leniency when smiling (LaFrance & Hecht, 1995). Smiling doesn’t always work in every situation, but it can definitely help you seem more positive and upbeat which often aids in persuasiveness.

3. Mirroring
A lot of people in sales like to use “mirroring” to improve their persuasiveness. The assumption behind “mirroring” is that people like others who are just like them – so if I smile, the sales person should smile; if I laugh, the sales person should laugh, etc.

4. Lean Forward
People who learn forward tend to be more persuasive than those who don’t – and people who use open body positions (e.g. arms and legs positioned away from body) rather than in closed body positions are also more persuasive (McGinley, LeFevre, & McGinley, 1975).

5. Eye Contact
As you know, eye contact can help you reveal your interest in something or somebody. Well, it is also a good way to make yourself more persuasive. In a university research study, they found that beggars who were able to establish eye contact with strangers (and made legitimate requests) were more likely to get money from that person (Robinson, Seiter, & Acharya, 1992). Interestingly, lack of eye contact has also shown to be successful when making illegitimate requests since it makes the person seem more humble or embarrassed (Kleinke, 1980).

6. Distance
Your geographical location to someone can increase your persuasive power. In a study by Baron and Bell (1976), diners in a cafeteria were approached by an experimenter and asked to volunteer for a survey for a period of 30 minutes to 2 hours and 30 minutes. The experimenter made requests of diners either 12 to 18 inches away or 3 to 4 feet away. Results showed that diners volunteered for longer surveys when approached by closer distances.

7. Dress for Success
Research shows that what we wear can greatly impact our credibility and status (Burgoon, Buller & Woodall, 1966). This includes our grooming, hair length, cosmetics, etc (Atkins & Kent 1988).

8. Talk Faster
Miller, Maruyama, Beaber, and Valone (1976) found that speeches delivered at fast speeds were more persuasive than those at slow or moderate speeds (perhaps because persuaders who speak faster appear more competent and knowledgeable). Faster speeches also have less scrutiny (Smith and Shaffer, 1995).

9. Use Hand Movements
Using hand movements encourages attention and retention in your persuasion attempt. Woodall and Folger (1981) found that people recalled 34% of a verbal message when accompanied by hand gestures, compared to only 11%. And Saigh (1981) found that the more teachers gesture, the more their students learn.

Hopefully, some of these strategies work for you the next time you ask for a paper extension from your professor.

You can instantly retrieve more information faster and easier by memorizing data in organized patterns.

Here are 8 ways to make information cement in your mind:

1. Acronyms
I’ve used acronyms throughout my college and grad school career. They’ve helped me memorize information for class presentations, and helped me memorize details for exams. An acronym is simply a word wherein each letter represents another word. For example: HOMES (The Great Lakes: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior)

2. Acrostics
Acrostics are sentences in which the first letter of each word helps you remember items in a series. For example: Zoe Cooks Chowder In Pink Pots in Miami (The Essential Minerals: Zinc, Calcium, Chromium, Iron, Potassium, Phosphorus, Iodine, Magnesium).

3. Act it Out
Use your acting ability to make a connection with the material you’re trying to learn. For example: reenact a dialog between two historic figures – or carry on a debate between two different philosophers, politicians or literary critics.

4. Categories
Organize information into broad categories to help you remember information faster. For example: Types of Joints in the Body (Immovable, Slightly Movable, Freely Movable).

5. Peg Words
Develop a chain of associations between whatever list you need to memorize and a peg word. Peg words are associated with numbers (e.g. zero is hero; one is a bun; two is a shoe; three is a tree; four is a door; five is a hive; six is sticks; seven is heaven; eight is a gate; nine is wine; and ten is a hen). Here’s how peg words work with the atomic numbers in a periodic table: (1) Imagine a hydrogen hotdog on a bun; (2) Imagine a helium shoe balloon; (3) Imagine a lit tree on fire (lithium); (4) a door made of berries (beryllium); (5) a hive with bored bees (boron); and the list can go on. The odd pairing helps you memorize information quickly.

6. Rhymes
Make up a silly rhyme or pun to help you memorize information. For example: Brown vs. Board of Education ended public-school segregation.

7. Recordings
Make a recording of yourself giving a lecture about the subject you’re studying. This is especially helpful for foreign language classes or a vocabulary section on a standardized test.

8. Visualizations
Turn an abstract idea into an image of something that is as specific as possible. For example, visualize a scene from a historic period. Make it as real as possible in your mind. Use all your senses and imagine what it must smell like, feel like, etc. The more specific you are, the more you’ll remember.

What are some strategies you use to memorize information faster?

[Photo by Rofi]

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If you’re a book lover like me, you’re going to want to check out these lists of best fiction and nonfiction books published in 2007.

I’ve also included some book titles that I think look really interesting.

New York Times Books of 2007
Here are some interesting books that I missed this last year:

• How to Talk About Books You Haven’t Read
• The Argument: Billionaires, Bloggers, and the Battle to Remake Democratic Politics

Boston Globe’s Best Fiction and Nonfiction in 2007
Boston Globe critics reveal their favorite books this year.

Publisher’s Weekly Best Books in 2007
Editors at Publisher’s Weekly compiled this great list – and they even include Stephen Colbert’s “I am America (And So Can You!)”

American Library Association
Here’s an interesting book they recommend:

• The Weather Makers: How Man is Changing the Climate and What it Means for Life on Earth

Los Angeles Times Best Nonfiction in 2007
I think I’m going to check these books out at the library:

• Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America
• Schultz and Peanuts: A Biography
• The Happiest Man in the World: An Account of the Life of Poppa Neutrino

The Economist 2007 Pick of the Bunch
A bunch of great books that I can’t wait to read:

• Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature
• Edith Wharton
  
• The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable

Library Journal.com Best Books of 2007
Some books that I’d like to read:

• Other Colors: Essays and Story
• The Slave Ship: A Human History

Amazon.com Best Books of 2007
It’s always interesting to look at top books at the biggest online bookstore. Some books that caught my eye:

• The Year of Living Biblically: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible
• Crashing Through: A True Story of Risk, Adventure, and the Man Who Dared to See
• The Principles of Uncertainty

What are some of your favorite books that you’d like to recommend?

California Polytechnic State University provides 10 tips to help students memorize information better.

Here are some of my favorite tips:

Use all your senses. When we are learning, we should try not only to get a strong impression but to obtain as many different kinds of impressions as possible. Some people can remember colors distinctly, but have a poor memory for shapes. But anyone, by putting together and using all of the impressions our sense organs bring us about a thing, can remember it much more clearly than if we rely on sight or sound alone. For example, try reading your lesson aloud. In doing this, your eye takes in the appearance of the printed word, your ear passes the sound of the words to your brain, and even the tension of the muscle of your throat add their bit to the total impression which your mind is expected to store away.

Intend to remember. The mere intention to remember puts the mind in a condition to remember, and if you will make use of this fact in studying you will be able to recall between 20 and 60 percent more of what you read and hear than you would if you were not actively trying to remember.

Logical memory. One of the most important of all aids to the remembering process is the habit of associating a new idea immediately with facts or ideas that are already firmly lodged in the mind. This association revives and strengthens the old memories and prevents the new one form slipping away by anchoring it to the well-established framework of your mental world.

How much study? You should study more than enough to learn your assignment. Experiments have proven that 50% more resulted in 50% better retention. After a week had passed, it was found that extra work had salvaged six times as much of the material as in the case when it was barely learned

Read the other memorization tips . . .

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One way I’ve reduced stress during finals week is through self hypnosis.

As you know, hypnosis has helped people manage pain, reduce stress, and even quit smoking.

It doesn’t work for everyone, but I’ve personally found it as a way to help me get into a relaxed state quickly. It has also helped me sleep very well.

One self hypnosis method that I enjoy is guided imagery.

Guided imagery is based on the concept that your body and mind are connected. Using all of your senses, your body seems to respond as though what you are imagining is real.

You can achieve a relaxed state when you imagine all the details of a safe, comfortable place, such as a beach or a garden. This relaxed state may aid healing, learning, creativity, and performance. It may help you feel more in control of your emotions and thought processes, which may improve your attitudes, health, and sense of well-being.

A lot of companies charge money to purchase guided imagery mp3s, but here are some free ones that you can upload to your iPod . . .

• University of Texas Relaxation mp3s
• University of Michigan – Guided Imagery
• Kaiser Permanente Guided Imagery mp3s
• The Meditation Podcast

You can learn more about guided imagery on Squidoo.

Now that final exams are almost here – and term papers need to get turned in – it’s time to make sure you’re getting enough rest.

You see, proper rest is vital to keeping your brain functioning to its full potential. Quality sleep is also important so that you can stay energized and focused on your various assignments.

Stanford University published a great list of ways to help you sleep better. Here’s an excerpt:

Take a hot bath.
People with trouble falling asleep might benefit from taking hot baths about 90 minutes before bedtime, the researchers speculate. When they get out of the bath, body temperature will drop rapidly, and that might help them to fall asleep faster

Drink some warm milk.
If you’re stomach is empty, it can interfere with your sleep schedule.However, a heavy meal can also interfere with good sleep. Dairy products and turkey contain tryptophan, which acts as a natural sleep inducer. Try a warm glass of milk before bed.

Don’t take naps.
Try not to nap during the day. A nap will often it make it more difficult to go to bed at night.

If you don’t fall asleep within 20 minutes, get out of bed and do something boring.
Staying in bed longer won’t help you fall asleep. If you’re having trouble sleeping, get out of bed until you feel tired. You need to teach your body that your bed is a place of sleeping – not worrying, brainstorming, or thinking about tomorrow.

Don’t expose yourself to bright lights.
Dim your lights prior to bed, and refrain from turning on bright lights if you wake up during the night to use the restroom. Bright lights signal to your brain that it’s day. Try to only use dim lights at night.

Check out the other ways to sleep better . . .

As an English Lit. major in college, I had to write dozens of essays a quarter.

And, unfortunately, I got hit with writer’s block on a regular basis.

I tried to combat it by spending more time researching in the library, but that just made my problem worse.

You see, even though research is important — it didn’t help me write my paper. In fact, I’ve found that research just helped me procrastinate more.

So how do I cure my bouts with writer’s block?

Here are 10 ways that have helped me write when I’m not in the mood:

1. Relax your mind.
The more you worry about not having ideas, the more you’ll freeze up your mind. You need to relax and think positively about your writing assignment. Realize that everyone goes through writer’s block, and the cure is to relax your mind.

2. Take a hot shower.
I don’t know what it is about a hot shower, but it really helps me refresh my body and mind. The hot shower helps me relax and focus on my writing assignments. It’s also a place where I brainstorm easily. Take a notepad and leave it next to your shower door for when the ideas start flowing.

3. Write freely.
Whenever I’m at a loss for words, I’ll just start writing. It doesn’t matter what you write, just write something. The very act of getting words on a page will help you build confidence, and help your mind to start pumping out your thoughts.

4. Write what you would say to your friend.
Sometimes it helps me to pretend that I’m explaining the subject to a friend. By imagining a conversation with a friend, it helps me write what I would say – and this is a great way to trick yourself into writing.

5. Don’t worry about punctuation or organization.
When you’re struggling with writer’s block, this is not the time to focus on punctuation or how you’re organizing your paper. You want to eliminate everything that stands between you and getting words on a page. So just write and don’t worry about anything else.

6. Take deep breaths.
There are many benefits to breathing deeply in meditation, and one of them is to help you refresh your mind. I personally like Dr. Weil’s deep breathing exercises when I’m feeling tired and uninspired:

1. Inhale through your nose for four seconds
2. Hold your breath for seven seconds
3. Exhale through tightly pursed lips, creating “back pressure,” for eight seconds.
4. Do this eight times, twice a day, everyday.

7. Move around.
Get your body moving and possibly even try writing in a new location. Just by moving around will get your blood pumping faster and will help you feel more energized.

8. Concentrate on a different section of your paper.
If you’re stuck writing your introduction, just skip it. Start writing another section. Don’t worry if you don’t have the best paragraph structure – just write and the words will start to flow. You can always edit later.

9. Listen to music.
Sometimes listening to classical music or jazz can help you start writing. It doesn’t work for everyone, but I’ve found that it can help me block out any surrounding noises and focus on my writing. Try music when you’re out of words.

10. Don’t worry about failing.
Look, a lot of people get writer’s block because they think they’re afraid of failure – or they think they can’t write a good paper. You have to get rid of that negativity and start writing. The more you write, the better your paper will be. You can always edit it later – and find a friend to proofread it to give you some suggestions.

So just start writing . . .

The next time you finish studying, I’d like for you to give yourself a 5 minute lecture on what you just read.

Yeah, I know it sounds crazy, but just give it a try.

You see, one way to help new ideas cement in your mind is to recite them back to yourself.

If you simply read a textbook passively, you will probably remember less than a third of what you should within a few days. And you will probably remember a lot less two months later.

However, if you’re actively reading and reciting key concepts back to yourself it will help connect these ideas to your core memory.

And if you’re able to attach these new ideas to subjects you already know well, this will help the new ideas stick in your mind much longer – and much easier.

So talk to yourself after you’ve studied.

It’s a great way to test yourself on what you just read. And it will force your mind to remember more and more each time you study.

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If you’re looking for a way to challenge your mind, here are some free brain games you can play:

All Star Logic Puzzles
A great assortment of logic puzzles to test your analytical skills.

Archimedes Mind and Visual Puzzles
Tons of math-based puzzles, tessellations, and geometric puzzles to keep your mind buzzing.

Brain Juice
Huge selection of various logic puzzles submitted by users.

Brain Teaser World
Puzzles, optical illusions, and magic tricks

Brain Ball
A collection of mind games that test your logic, spatial sense, memory and planning skills.

Brain Bashers
Brain teasers, puzzles, optical illusions, and logic games

BrainBoggled
Riddles, math riddles, logic quizzes, and brain teasers

Braingle
User-submitted brain teasers, puzzles, riddles, trivia, and games

Puzzability
Puzzles and mind bending riddles

When I was an undergraduate student, I had to take 5 classes in a foreign language to complete my degree.

I took classes in Spanish, classical Latin, and ancient Greek to fulfill my requirement – and needless to say – I’m glad that’s over with.

I’ve literally spent hundreds of hours memorizing verb conjugations. And I’ve probably killed many trees with all the note cards I’ve used up.

The more I memorized, the easier it became – not because I was getting smarter – but simply because my brain was used to memorizing a lot of information every single day.

Pretty soon I was able to memorize stacks of vocabulary cards very quickly. It just took practice, and anyone can do it.

Here are some of the strategies I used to help me memorize my vocabulary terms and conjugation rules quickly:

Make Creative Associations
When I was memorizing a new word or grammar rule, I tried to develop a fun way to make it stick. The more outlandish the association, the better it would stick. For example, let’s say that I had to remember that word “domus” is Latin for home. I would simply imagine a huge dome hanging over moose. (The classical Latin pronunciation sounds like “Dome-oose.”) That association would help me remember the word easily. I know this sound simplistic, but it really works. I would sometimes draw out fun associations on the back of my vocabulary note cards to really make these bizarre associations remembered.

Break-up Your Study Time
Our brains tend to remember less the longer we study. That’s why it’s often easier for us to remember the beginning and end of a lecture than all the details in between. So I found that by studying in short one hour stints helped me remember more. Everyone is different, so find out what amount of study time is perfect for you. You might find that you can memorize more in three one-hour sessions than one four-hour session.

Use Your Mind and Body
Sitting at a desk staring at some grammar rules might work for some people, but I always learned quicker by actively doing something with the information. I would draw association pictures or read my book aloud to help make things more permanent in my mind. I also found that studying note cards while walking around campus was a way to keep myself energized and focused.

Repeat What You Need to Know
One way to help something stick in your mind is to recite it to yourself. Read it aloud to yourself – and then read it again. The key here is to saturate your mind with the content in every way possible. One fun way to do this is to imagine your vocabulary cards or textbook being read by someone you think is funny. Imagine your textbook being read by Jon Stewart. It will at least keep things a bit more interesting.

Reduce the Noise
Some people study well listening to music. It really depends on the subject matter. However, if you find yourself drifting off, or focusing on the words of the song, it’s probably best to dismiss the music for a while. If you enjoy music, listen to some classical music or some other music that helps you focus. You basically want to situate yourself in a place with the least amount of noise interference.

Stay Positive (if possible)
You’ll remember far more information about a subject if you try to find it interesting. If you think the topic is boring and useless, than you’re going to make memorization that much harder. Look for some sort of connection on how the subject you need to learn about fits in with your life.

Study When You’re Most Productive
Everyone has their best study time, and often it’s during the daytime. There’s just something about memorizing and studying when it’s daytime that can keep you more motivated and more focused. I find that I’m most productive during the early morning. I often go to a coffee shop around 6:30 a.m. and just drink coffee while I write and study. Find your best time to study and keep on that schedule. It will do wonders for your memory power.

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