Body postures and gestures What posture is the person you are having a conversation with assuming? Observe, and than match the posture and gestures.

Emotional intelligence is a shorthand that psychological researchers use to describe how well individuals can manage their own emotions and react to the emotions of others.

“Mixed model,” developed by psychologist Daniel Goleman. The mixed model has five key areas: Self-awareness, Self-management,Motivation,Empathy and Social skills.

Self-awareness: Self-awareness involves knowing your own feelings. This includes having an accurate assessment of what you’re capable of, when you need help, and what your emotional triggers are.

Self-management: Self-management involves being able to control outbursts, calmly discussing disagreements, and avoiding activities that undermine you like extended self-pity or panic.

Motivation: Everyone is motivated to action by rewards like money or status. Goleman’s model, however, refers to motivation for the sake of personal joy, curiosity, or the satisfaction of being productive.

Empathy: While the three previous categories refer to a person’s internal emotions, this one deals with the emotions of others. Empathy is the skill and practice of reading the emotions of others and responding appropriately.

Social skills: This category involves the application of empathy as well as negotiating the needs of others with your own. This can include finding common ground with others, managing others in a work environment, and being persuasive.

Listening skills allow one to make sense of and understand what another person is saying.

Good listening skills make workers more productive. The ability to listen carefully allows workers to better understand assignments they are given. They are able to understand what is expected of them by their management.

Listening tips: Maintain eye contact with the speaker. This will demonstrate to the speaker that the listener is paying attention.

Do not interrupt the speaker. Wait until he or she is completely finished, then ask questions. Listening long enough may answer several of the questions without the need to ask. When the time is right to ask, repeat instructions first and then ask appropriate questions.

Control body language. As much as possible, sit still while listening. This implies that the listener is paying full attention to the speaker. A nod of the head can be good, as it implies agreement.

A good listener knows that being attentive to what the speaker doesn't say is as important as being attentive to what he does say. Look for nonverbal cues such as facial expressions and posture to get the full gist of what the speaker is saying.

Without rapport, there is little chance to influence or to persuade others.

Rapport building is at the root of effective communication

what are some of the techniques you can implement to increase your capacity to build rapport? One powerful method is to match and mirror the behavior of the other

Matching and mirroring is the skill of assuming someone else’s style of behavior to create rapport.

The rhythm of the breathPay attention to how the other person is breathing, and then match it. This technique helps tremendously in bonding with the other.

The tone of your voice to build rapport, you need to mirror his or her tone of voice. pay attention at the speed of the speech.

self-disclosure is one of the hallmarks of intimate relationships.

Revealing your motives, intentions, goals, values, and emotions, can increase liking and feelings of intimacy.

Successful and strategic self-disclosure is a leadership competency that many leaders have yet to acquire.

Skillful self-disclosers choose the substance and process of their revelations, including the depth, breadth, and timing of disclosure, with the goal of furthering the collective task rather than furthering personal agendas.

Too little disclosure may result in follower feelings of uncertainty and suspicion, with followers unable to trust someone who isn’t open about his or her own background.

Skillful self-disclosure can humanize the leader, creating connections between the leader and followers that increase feelings of trust and intimacy, and, in an organizational context, a readiness to work together collaboratively to reach mutual task goals.

There is something about poetry beyond prose logic, there is mystery in it, not to be explained but admired.

It's about a young man who has climbed to fame and he discovers that his writing and the relationship with his wife are really more important for him than anything else.

Don't try to talk anyone out of concentrating his hatred on Ayn Rand or any other dead person. It can't harm the dead. Diverted to a living person, it might actually do harm.

Every success story is a tale of constant adaption, revision and change.

It is never too late to become what you might have been.

I like ice hockey, but it's a frustrating game to watch. It's hard to keep your eyes on both the puck and the players and too much time passes between scoring in hockey. There are usually more fights than there are points.

But with the Industrial Revolution and introduction of various industrial techniques for purifying sugar, we have a situation in which what we are consuming is not good nutritionally or ecologically.

I have been drawing all my life.

The first kiss between two people is something really good in life.

You are perfectly entitled to invent your life and to claim that its true.

Of the big horror movies of the '70s, you have 'The Omen,' 'The Sentinel,' 'Rosemary's Baby,' 'The Stepford Wives,' 'Burnt Offerings' - these are all romantic fatalist movies where there's a sort of glimmer of hope... but darkness wins.

There's no buying a greasy breakfast in L.A. - it's all organic juices.

Every newspaper on earth has called me a liar.

Some people with blogs are never going to get famous, and they've been doing it for, like, over a year. I feel bad for them.

There is no 'I' in team but there is in win.

The MC has to be just that, a master in control. They can show no signs of weakness.

Market timing, by the way, is a tag some buy-and-hold investors use to put down anything that involves using your brain. These are the same people who like to watch the locomotive coming and get run down in the name of discipline.

Well, I jumped for the first time when I was 16. I just loved it and immediately realized that it was what I wanted to do.

I walk around naked all the time, but it doesn't mean I am completely comfortable and happy with my body.

I still have in me the same awareness when I was 12 and chubby and a girl was spitting in my face. I'm the same person.

Harvest is a joyful time of gathering the produce of the land.

The future is our greatest adversary. We are a very backward-looking society, and as such, we are continually blindsided by the future.

The quality of a leader cannot be judged by the answers he gives, but by the questions he asks.