Lila S.

• Budding writers should not be afraid of writing, but should experiment it as a form of free hand sketching.
• They should spill out their brains and then build, fix or arrange the content in a creative way.
• Writing does not just happen when we write something, but also happens when we are thinking, talking, seeing, listening and texting.
• One needs to fall in love with writing and not think of it as a task to be accomplished.

Yuval Noah Harari, author of the best-selling books Sapiens and Homo Deus thinks that science fiction shapes the understanding of people on issues such as intelligence and biotechnology, which will likely change our society in the future.

Science fiction wrestles with concepts such as AI taking over the jobs of workers. One good science fiction movie is worth a hundred articles in Science of Nature.

Storytelling has always been a powerful, influencing tool since ancient times.

Crafting a good story around yourself is a great way to make anyone feel better about you. If we simply voice out our opinions, it sounds polarizing instead of persuasive, and if we really want to tug at the other person’s heartstrings and change their mind, we need to weave an engaging narrative.

About 300 billion emails are sent around the globe every day. On average, people working in an office get 121 emails per working day. We often send and read them without thinking about them for a second.

But emails are vital. We send them because of traceability or a time difference, or we need many people reading the same thing.

1. Adjust your body language.
2. Learn to handle friendly teasing.
3. Tell your own embarrassing stories.
4. Let go of managing people's opinions of you.

People think of a smiling person as likable, trustworthy, cooperative, and believable. But smiling is so easy anyone can fake it and exploit the other person.

Genuine smiles involve a few wrinkles around the eyes and are also called Duchenne smiles. The problem is people can also crank out a seemingly genuine smile on demand.

Differing opinions and debates are good things as they help us balance each other out and move us forward as a society. But, such discussions can often turn into a situation where feelings are hurt, egos are wounded, and rifts end up much deeper than before.

This kind of damage is easily avoided by choosing phrases that will improve conversation.

When responding to specific arguments within a Gish gallop, you can use certain techniques to respond effectively to the flawed arguments.

• When someone states there is support for their stance, you can ask your opponent to list the specific evidence they claim support their view.
• When responding to generalised claims, show that they contradict the scientific consensus on the topic.

1. Others taking credit for your work: speak up when presenting your joint ideas, else the boss will remember that the other was the one who did all the talking.
2. Overanalyzing your tone or watering down criticism: understand the difference between sounding arrogant and assertive.
3. Noisy coworkers: work somewhere else in the office or record the noises that you make during a workday—maybe the noises aren’t as bad as you think.
4. Beign interrupted during meetings: to speak with authority and presence you need to feel worth listening to, and you can develop it for yourself.
5. Making friends in the office: invite a coworker to lunch or ask to join a group of them. People are often happy to have new additions.
6. Firing a hard worker that isn’t good enough: set clear benchmarks, and let them know what will happen if they don’t meet them.
7. You want to leave early but others work late: talk to your boss if there is no reason for the extra time.
8. Your employees don’t respect you: project confidence in your new role, then be specific and clear about your expectations.
9. Interviewing while pregnant: it’s an opportunity to show your resourcefulness and preparation. Be ready with a plan for minimizing the impact of your absence.
10. You don't want to attend to happy hour: try coming up with some time during work to bond–like lunch or family-friendly weekend events.