Knowledge Corner

Before we get started, it’s important to note that none of these methods fall under what we would term the dark arts of influencing people. Anything that might be harmful to someone in any way, especially to their self esteem, is not included here. These are ways to win friends and influence people using psychology without being a jerk or making someone feel bad. 1. Get Favors Trick: Get someone to do a favor for you—also known as the Benjamin Franklin effect. Legend has it that Benjamin Franklin once wanted to win over a man who didn’t like him. He asked the man to lend him a rare book and when the book was received he thanked him graciously. As a result, this the man who had never wanted to speak to him before, became good friends with Franklin. To quote Franklin: “He that has once done you a kindness will be more ready to do you another than he whom you yourself have obliged.” Scientists decided to test this theory and found that those who were asked by the resear...

1.READ ACTIVELY Whatever you do, do not curl up with your textbook on a cozy couch next to a roaring fire. You may have a comfortable afternoon, (and very likely a lovely nap) but you won’t remember much from your reading. The key to reading your textbooks is to read ACTIVELY. You need to DIGEST the material, with your mind engaged and processing what you are reading. Not only do you need to stay awake while you read, but you need to be ready to learn. Keep your energy up — get up and walk, run, dance every couple hours or whenever you start to feel sleepy. Keep a pen in your hand — keep your brain engaged and your body in an active position while you read Keep Post-it Notes ready — have Post-it Notes available for marking pages and highlighting passages 2. WRITE AS YOU READ The most important part of reading actively is writing. Taking notes while reading textbooks is not only important for creating study notes, but it increases memorization...