Taking Your Time: Presenting & Pausing

Time flies when you're having fun...it also slows when you're not. Hours with friends zoom by in what feel like minutes. Minutes on a bad Zoom crawl by in what feel like hours. This is the relative nature of time.

When we're fearful (or dreading), our brain comes on full alert. Paying attention to every little detail to ensure our survival. We enter slow-motion mode. If you've ever slipped, you've enter this time warp.

Public speaking is notoriously fear-inducing. The judgement, the potential for failure, embarrassment. A five-minute presentation feels much longer. Everything slows down, including your perception of talking speed. This is why the best (and most common) piece of advice for new speakers is to slow down. We talk too fast. Appearing nervous and making it difficult for the audience to keep up.

The audience's experience is the opposite. There's no stress in watching. No nerves, no fear. Time moves faster for them. This creates an interesting delta in the time perception between the two. Which is even more reason to slow down. Your fast talk is even faster for them.

Slowing down, pausing, even to the point of feeling to too slow will lead to a normal, confident talking speed for those watching. Even when you're in the same room, you're in different time zones. Adjusting accordingly will enable you to better connect.

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The Art of Giving Feedback

Constructive feedback is an awkward affair. You don't want hurt feelings, but recognize the importance of honesty. You've tried the classic "hoping things will get better on its own" and unfortunately it hasn't played out. When giving feedback, here are a few things that I try to keep it mind. Start with empathy. Step into their shoes and understand their story. If you don't know, ask. Be genuinely curious. Feedback is a dynamic affair. Shared communication with a shared goal towards progress. Take the emotion out of it. Focus on the situation, not the person. Focusing on the person adds unnecessary weight to an already emotionally-bloated event. Be specific. Give clear examples. Vague feedback equals dismissed feedback. Doing above won't de-awkward things fully, but it will dampen it and increase the chance of better outcomes.

Step One is Knowing

In school, we listen to our teachers. At home, our parents. Throughout our childhood, following instructions is praised and rewarded. When we're young, there's value in this. We don't understand how the world works quite yet, so guidance can be lifesaving. The bias to just accept obviously has drawbacks. Insert old jumping off a bridge adage . This conditioning is especially strong for kids from lower income households. Their parents are more likely in working class jobs involving strict order-taking. Parents of middle-class households tend to be knowledge workers where influence is essential. Studies have shown kids from middle-income households are more willing to negotiable with their teachers. They learn from their parents that things are not set in stone. This leads to better grades and learning outcomes when compared to their lower income counterparts who don't negotiable. In business, if we simply accept things as they are, we would never innovate. In work, w

ELI5: The Stock Market

Today we get back to basics and answer some of the most common questions about the stock market.

Herman Ye

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