Next, Vedantam's friend Meshelle tries to persuade him to slow down and enjoy the ritual of making a cup of tea. We'll see in the next edition of Stopwatch Science whether the host took that feedback to heart. 'You are a wonderful human being, a great father, a wonderful husband, a brilliant journalist,' Pink tells Vedantam. People were more likely to be open to feedback if they were asked to reflect on their own positive qualities first. If you can boost a person's self-esteem before giving them constructive criticism, they might be more receptive to it, Tracy Epton and her colleagues at the University of Manchester found. They found people were more likely to give someone a cigarette in a noisy nightclub when the request was whispered in their right ear. In what Adam Cole refers to as ' the most Italian study ever,' Luca Tommasi and Daniele Marzoli examined whether people were more likely to comply with a request when it was whispered in their left ear or their right. The takeaway? Assume positive intent when receiving feedback, or you might miss the point!ģ. When the advice was on a subject that the men felt was close to home, they seemed to question the motivation of their wives, rather than listening to the content of the feedback itself. My Big Break An Idea That Stuck: How A Hymnal Bookmark Helped Inspire The Post-It NoteĪ few years ago, Max Gunther and his colleagues at Vanderbilt University analyzed the brains of men while they listened to the voices of their wives giving them advice on a certain issue. So if you want someone to do something - you know what to do. Lo and behold, the Post-its made faculty members far more likely to complete the task. Some also received a cover letter or a personalized Post-it note asking them to complete it. Randy Garner at Sam Houston State University gave faculty members a survey to complete. We're always trying to get people to pay attention, but there's some research showing that we have a powerful (and affordable) weapon at our disposal: the Post-it note. In keeping with this episode's theme of giving and receiving feedback, here are four pieces of science-informed insight that could help you communicate better in your everyday life. They have 60 seconds to convey each idea. On Stopwatch Science, Dan and Shankar agree on a topic, and each brings two pieces of research to share. Stopwatch Scienceĭaniel Pink is a friend of the program and fellow social science nerd. 'You are switchtracking to about four other topics of your feedback for him or her, but it's a silent switchtrack, so your boss isn't necessarily aware that you're not paying any attention at all,' Sheila says. Sheila Heen, on 'switchtracking' in conversations

And they don't even realize that they're going in different directions. Listen all the way to the end of the episode to hear the song! He's listening in to all the segments and then composing a song stitching them all together. This week, NPR's Adam Cole also joins the podcast for a game we're calling ColePlay (with apologies to a British pop band you may have heard of). They talk about the importance of rituals - until they get sidetracked by an unexpected visitor. They'll give you some tips that might help you communicate better - and perhaps even have better luck bumming a cigarette.Īfter that, Vedantam sits down for tea with comedian Meshelle, the Indie Mom of Comedy. Then, host Shankar Vedantam and author Daniel Pink will play a rapid-fire game of Stopwatch Science. First, we'll hear from author Sheila Heen about a common communication problem that pops up in many relationships.

Pour yourself a cup of tea, turn your (right) ear toward your speakers and take a listen to the very first episode of the Hidden Brain podcast.

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