Tag: harvard

Harvard dropout Bill Gates thinks the value of college is ‘easy to underestimate’ (MSFT)

bill gates harvard commencement

Bill Gates, who famously dropped out of Harvard in 1975 to work on Microsoft, said today that the value of college “is easy to underestimate.”

During a Reddit “Ask Me Anything,” or AMA session today, Gates, the richest man in the world, wrote

I think the value of getting a great education – that is going to college – is easy to underestimate. The most interesting jobs require a college education. The STEM related jobs are probably the most interesting although they are not for everyone. The value of staying curious – reading a lot and learning new things even after college is also underestimated. 

Indeed, Gates has always been a big proponent of expanding one’s horizons through reading. In fact, he reads more than 50 books a year

It also does seem like Gates has evolved his thinking on college — despite his own status as a dropout, his Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has made affordable college eduction a big priority, even as it’s become a big point of policy for politicians.

Besides, in 2007, Gates returned to Harvard to accept an honorary degree. 

SEE ALSO: Bill Gates says there’s one problem even his massive wealth can’t solve

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: These are the colleges that offer the best bang for your buck

Read More

A Harvard psychologist says your success in any situation hinges on 3 things

amy cuddy power posing

Harvard psychologist Amy Cuddy is perhaps best known as the creator of the “power pose.”

As she described in her 2012 TED Talk, power-posing is about taking advantage of the body-mind connection: You adopt the body language of powerful people so that you feel and act more confident.

But power posing is just one path to a state of calm self-confidence that will help you succeed in challenging situations. That state, which Cuddy calls “presence,” is the subject of her new book by the same name.

Cuddy defines presence as being attuned to and able to express your full potential. When you’re present, you approach challenges without a sense of threat.

Whether you’re interviewing for a job or pitching your startup, people can tell right away if you’re present, and they judge you more positively when you are.

In an interview with Business Insider, Cuddy said there are three things people see when you’re present:

1. You believe your story

When you’re present, you demonstrate conviction and passion so that other people come to believe your story, too.

In the book, Cuddy describes a yet-unpublished study she conducted, in which participants went through mock interviews. For five minutes, they had to persuade the interviewer that they were the best person for the job, while being completely honest. All the while, the interviewer held a completely neutral expression.

Three independent pairs of judges watched videos of the interviews, looking for presence, believability, and hireability. Sure enough, the interviewees who were rated more present were also rated more believable and more hireable.

Cuddy writes: “Presence mattered to the judges because it signaled authenticity, believability, and genuineness; it told the judges that they could trust the person, that what they were observing was real.”

confident presentation public speaking

2. You’re confident without being arrogant

In the book, Cuddy quotes a venture capitalist describing what turns him off during an entrepreneur’s pitch: “They’re too high energy and aggressive, maybe a little pushy. It seems defensive, I don’t expect them to have all the answers. Actually, I don’t want them to have all the answers.”

Being open to feedback is key, Cuddy told Business Insider. The more you shut down other people and their perspectives, the less appealing you become. That’s because it can seem like you’re trying to cover up a sense of uncertainty.

“A truly confident person does not require arrogance, which is nothing more than a smoke screen for insecurity,” Cuddy writes. “A confident person can be present to others, hear their perspectives, and integrate those views in ways that create value for everyone.”

3. Your verbal and nonverbal communication is in sync

When we’re being inauthentic — or when we’re intentionally deceiving someone — Cuddy said our verbal and nonverbal communication is incongruent.

In the book, she explains that’s because you’re constantly trying to adjust what you’re saying and doing to create the impression you think others want to see.

On the other hand, when we’re present, our verbal and nonverbal behavior matches. People aren’t distracted trying to figure out why something feels “off,” and they’re more likely to put their trust in you.

Ultimately, if you’re confident in yourself, other people will be more likely to be confident in you, too. It doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get the job or the investor’s money, but you’ll walk away knowing that you did the best you could — and the right opportunity for you is out there.

SEE ALSO: A Harvard psychologist says there’s a personality trait that’s just as important as charisma and is easier to develop

DON’T MISS: A Harvard psychologist says people judge you based on 2 criteria when they first meet you

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A Harvard psychologist says this is key to being more confident and powerful

Read More

A Harvard psychologist says there’s a personality trait that’s just as important as charisma and is easier to develop

meeting, boss, interview

Some people are naturally more charismatic than others.

Bill Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, and Martin Luther King, Jr. had the ability to captivate and inspire their audiences the way few other leaders could.

Yet Harvard psychologist Amy Cuddy says there’s a personality trait that’s just as important as charisma — and it’s considerably easier to develop.

That trait is what she calls “presence,” and it’s the subject of her new book by the same name. “Presence,” as Cuddy defines it, is about being attuned to and able to express your full potential — whether in an important presentation or a conversation with your boss.

During a recent talk at the 92Y in New York City, Cuddy explained the difference between charisma and presence, and why presence isn’t something that only certain people are born with:

Charisma seems to be more about the intoxicating quality that you have on other people, as opposed to presence, which is more about the self in relation to others, and how you feel you represented yourself in a situation, and how you were able to engage. So it’s less about how others see you and more about how you see yourself.

Cuddy writes that one way to become present is through “power posing,” in which you adopt the body language of powerful people so that you feel and act more confident. (Ideally, you’d do this in private, for example a few minutes before you head into a job interview.)

You can also practice self-affirmation, in which you write down your core values and why they’re meaningful to you. Hopefully, both these exercises will help you feel more confident in challenging situations.

On the other hand, psychologists who study charisma say it’s largely about behaviors like showing more expression in your face and using words that people can relate to.

Ultimately, both charisma and presence have a similar end result: making a positive impression on other people.

“I want people to be able to influence themselves,” Cuddy said. “We convince ourselves, and that allows us to convince others.”

SEE ALSO: A Harvard psychologist says there’s one factor that defines success in a job interview

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A Harvard psychologist says this is key to being more confident and powerful

Read More
Loading