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1-Page Summary of 59 Seconds

Overview

There is a story about a man and his broken boiler. The man spent weeks trying to fix it, but he couldn’t, so he called the engineer who fixed it in one second. When the man received his bill for $500, he complained that the cost was too high because fixing it took only one second. The engineer replied that although fixing it took only one second, there were many years of training behind knowing exactly where to tap on the boiler.

There are many ways to improve yourself. We do not need years of training or thousands of dollars to make a change. Thanks to psychological research, we can now fix our problems in minutes and learn how to be more creative, empathetic, and self-aware.

In this passage, you’ll learn why self-help gurus who talk about visualization are misguided. You’ll also find out how to use psychology to be more likable and what a 19th century engineer discovered about working in groups.

The following is a favorite summary

The author’s favorite tip is the email technique to catch liars. It’s one of his favorite little hacks ever.

Ben S

Audio Lead at Google, Summary

Big Idea #1: Nail that interview by being more likable.

When it comes to landing a job, qualifications and experience are important. However, there’s one factor that can trump all the rest: Likability. Here are some ways to make people like you more easily in order to land your dream job.

Researchers followed over 100 college students applying for their first job. The researchers found that students who were liked by the interviewer were more likely to be hired, which is great news because it’s easy to make a good impression on an interviewer and get hired.

Another way to gain favor in an interview is to reveal your weaknesses early on. Duke University conducted research where participants were presented with a recording of a man talking about his life. He revealed his weakness early on or left it until the end.

People who heard the tape in which he made a confession rated him as more likable. It’s therefore better to save your positive aspects until the end of an interview, so that it appears you like letting them come up naturally in conversation.

Here’s one last tip: if you make a mistake, don’t freak out.

You might be able to see mistakes more clearly than others. Therefore, it’s best not to react too strongly or apologize for a mistake you’ve made.

Big Idea #2: Occasional mistakes and avoiding gossip will make you more sympathetic.

Likability is crucial for interviews and social life. If you’re not likable, it’s tough to make friends or be persuasive. It may come as a surprise, but if you falter instead of trying to be perfect, people find that more attractive and likable than when you try to be perfect.

The Bay of Pigs Invasion was a failure, but President Kennedy’s reaction to it made him more likable. He took full responsibility for the failure and did not make excuses. The author assembled an audience and had two actresses demonstrate a blender. One actress performed perfectly, while the other one messed up by spilling juice on herself. Although everyone found the perfect performer credible, they liked her less than the second actress in terms of likability.

When asked to explain their ratings, people said they couldn’t identify with the flawless demonstration of the first actress but warmed to the second actress, who showed a more human side. When you are already seen as competent, making mistakes isn’t an issue. If you’re not that good at what you do, however, avoid mistakes or try to be perfect because when people see someone make a mistake it makes them less attractive and appealing. Also, if you want to be liked by others don’t gossip about them because Ohio State University researchers found out that when we say negative things about another person we tend to take on those traits ourselves so if you say positive things about other people then they will think well of your character.