5 Psychology and Communication Essentials for Business

So psychology and communication in business are critically important and also under-appreciated, and you want to learn more so you can succeed.? So should you start reading Freud and work your way forward?

Absolutely not!? As in, you don’t need to study all of psychology and communication (although you can if you want), and most definitely you don't need to start with Freud.? Interesting fellow.? Although understanding human ego is an important area covered in some recommendations below.

So what specific areas or disciplines of psychology would I suggest to study to start??

Here are my top 5:??

?Active listening skills.? Studying a bit of the background is likely useful, but this is an area where you can jump right into practising and applying quickly.? This is absolutely critical in all relationships - including business ones - and is woefully absent in most managers and leaders.

• Some active listening techniques.??
• And a few more!??
• And a few articles on the topic.?

Body language. ?Another secret super-power.? Everyone knows about the statements that 70% or more of communication is non-verbal, yet most people don’t invest the time to truly be able to read body language.? It’s like any other language skill that you develop with learning and practice.? Crazy important and again woefully absent in a lot of people.?

• What Every Body is Saying by Joe Navarro.? Often considered the Bible on this topic.??
• The Definitive Book of Body Language by Allan & Barbara Pease.?
• BODY LANGUAGE: The Ultimate Guide to Speed Reading People Through Behavioral Psychology, by Emotional Pathway

Emotional Intelligence (EQ).? True, EQ encompasses a very broad range of human psychology, but most of the recent work informs business and professional behaviour very well.? Understanding the four quadrants of EQ, where you’re strong or weak, and how to develop and utilise them is absolutely necessary in business.? Spoiler alert:? Something like 90% of people believe they have good self-awareness, where in reality 85%+ of them are actually lacking in this EQ quadrant based on the evidence.? That’s something that is good to know in personal relationships.??

? Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ by Daniel Goleman.? Arguably, the start of this approach and understanding of EQ.?

? Emotional Intelligence 2.0 by Travis Bradbury.? I really like this book as it has a very short introduction, but then jumps right into very practical steps to develop your EQ.??

Human Cognitive Biases.? There are more than 150 human cognitive biases (188 in one recent summary - link below).? Cognitive biases are systematic errors in thinking that influence how we perceive, remember, and make decisions, often leading to irrational judgments and choices.? Understanding at least some (a lot) of these biases is critical in business as they impact nearly everything from sales to marketing to people management to leadership to communication to strategy.? Essentially every aspect of business is impacted by our cognitive biases, so you’d be well advised to get some understanding of the “big” ones.??

? Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

? Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions by Dan Ariely

? Every Single Cognitive Bias in One Infographic from Visual Capitalist.??

Behavioural Economics.? To be fair, behavioural economics is a catch-all for many of the psychological aspects that impact our behaviours and decisions.? This field of economics grew out of some wondrous and surprising work in the 70s and 80s (and right up until today) on how the human brain actually works, not just how we’d like it to work.?

? Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics by Richard Thaler

? Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein

? And again, Thinking Fast and Slow by Kahneman.???

From the above readings, I’d prioritise Kahneman - after all, he did win a Nobel prize in economics as a psychologist for his groundbreaking work on these topics - and Thaler who is a leading voice on Behavioural Economics.? I’d also say the active listening exercises are crazy valuable.??

If you want some more variety, I would also add for interest: ??

• Anything about Fixed versus Growth mindsets. Such an important topic and colours all human development approaches.? Carol Dweck:? Mindset, The New Psychology of Success.??
• Art of War by Sun Tzu.? While this is classical military strategy, most of the principles in the writing are based on psychology.? Understanding your own psychology, the psychology of your “team” and the psychology of your opponent’s “team” and using this knowledge to your advantage.?
• Deep dive on Prospect Theory.? Granted, this was the work of Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky from 1979, so a lot of this topic is reflected in his more accessible book (linked above), but some of the original writings are super interesting.? Or maybe I’m just geeking out.??

The study of psychology and communication in business is not an end-state, but a lifelong pursuit of knowledge, so the above are just my recommendations to get your feet wet. Hope you enjoy!

#psychology #businessskills #careerdevelopment #communication #leadership