This page was previously called ‘Reading Recommendations,’ but I thought that was boring. So now the page is named after a pog I had when I was a kid. Anyone remember pogs?
Anyway, here are things that I’m currently reading/listening to, or have recently finished. (I don’t like to say I’ve ‘read’ or ‘am reading’ something when I’m actually listening to the audiobook. It’s a distinction that my overthinking mind can’t get over or past. So, some of these I’ve listened to during my morning commute.)
Customs of the World: Using Cultural Intelligence to Adapt, Wherever You Are by David Livermore
This is a lecture series from The Great Courses, which are hella expensive on their own (or, at least they seemed to be, though now, in comparison with the Masterclasses and all that, maybe not so much?); HOWEVER, many of The Great Courses are now available on Audible as audiobooks. I pay just under $15/month for an Audible membership, which gets me 1 new credit each month. Several of The Great Courses are more than $15 apiece, but you can still get them for a single credit, so you save even more money that way. AND, if you don’t already have an Audible account, you get your first book for free, so there’s also that. Anyway, finances aside, I’m really liking this lecture series. At least so far, it’s divided into particular aspects of culture in terms of individualist or collectivist cultures (US versus China, for instance), collaborative or competitive cultures, low versus high uncertainty avoidance (China versus Singapore), and so on. Super interesting and plays in well with the idea of unconscious biases and critical thinking, as these concepts can/do easily become stereotypical if we aren’t careful.
Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Super Athletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall
This was an amazing listen. Just like with Living Danishly, below, when this audiobook ended, I felt like I was saying goodbye to dear friends. This folded in science with amazing narrative that left me yearning for my daily commute just so I could see what happened next. The book is fantastic on its own, but I really feel like the audiobook took it to 11; the narrator was superb. Anyone who knows me knows that I’ve had a lifelong hate-hate relationship with running. Now, I’m training for a 5k, trying–and maybe sometimes succeeding–to find that natural runner in all of us. Even if you hate running, give this a try; just the story alone is worth it.
The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World’s Happiest Country by Helen Russell
Love, love, LOVED it. Fantastically engaging listen all about the stressors and surprising wins of moving to a new culture.
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
At first, this book was supremely uncomfortable for me to listen to. Which is a good thing. It stayed uncomfortable throughout, but I learned to sit with my discomfort for a while. This book evoked a lot of emotions and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Incredibly important listen.
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear
This was a good listen. It’s read by the author himself and thankfully he doesn’t have an annoying or otherwise off-putting voice (some authors do). He introduces four laws of habit change, and then he explains about how you use them (or their inverse) to make or break habits. I was going to list the laws here, but I’m terrified of copyright infringement and I didn’t see them outlined on the website. So, anyway, I definitely recommend this one. I’m honestly going to buy a hardcopy edition of the book too so I can reference back to specific parts. I just noticed that this book is endorsed by Ryan Holiday, the author of The Obstacle is the Way–another audiobook I listened to and would recommend.
Be the Best Bad Presenter Ever by Karen Hough
So, to caveat this, I haven’t read the book yet. However, while I was at work I got to watch part of a video she did about the book and its concepts, and it seemed really solid in my very humble opinion. It looks like she’s got kind of a Cliff’s Notes type edition on her website, here. You can go check that out. Here are my notes on the video so far:
- The beginning and end of your presentation, which she calls ‘bookends,’ are key, due to the primacy and recency effect
- Warm up BEFORE you go on stage
- No matter what, don’t apologize or tell the audience that you had no time to prepare or anything like that. Starts you off on a bad note.
- Practice, practice, practice! (Deliberate practice often, out loud, and on your feet–NOT to a mirror or in your head)
- Begin your presentation with a startling fact, a question, quick group survey or something like that. THEN, introduce yourself and your topic.
- Passion changes perception: if you’re passionate about something, you’re going to garner better feedback. Find something in the presentation that you’re invested in and show your passion.
- Choose ONE purpose for your presentation (NOT ‘to inform’–bleh)
- Figure out what kind of emotion you want your audience to feel (what result do you want?)
- Know your audience. What do they care about? What do they already know?
And I thought this bit was really cool:
- You can teach your body confidence
- studies on testosterone and cortisol*
- when you make yourself look small and scared, folded in on yourself physically, your body produces more cortisol
- when you make yourself large and open, chin up and arms wide, your body produces more testosterone
- You can do this for a minute or two just before you go on stage. No one’s expecting you to stand on the dais looking like Gaston.
I read a tumblr post that kind of touched on this idea. The verbiage is kind of macabre, I suppose, but basically the idea is that to present a confident persona, square your shoulders, hold your head high, think “Murder,” and walk. I guess people will jump out of your way like you’re Moses parting the Red Sea.
Anyway. The majority of us tend to hate public speaking, so if you can game any part of the system, I say go for it. Forewarned is forearmed. Or something.
*I will say that there are competing studies out there about the hormone-changing stuff, but I am also a pretty firm believer in, well, the power of belief. If standing tall and proud makes you feel more confident and ready to go, then by golly, who cares what your chemicals are doing. Go get em!
Decalcify Your Brain 