Academic Musing

Small Talk

Hey all you big cats.

No, I’m not talking about Carole Baskin from Tiger King.

Rather, I’m talking about Leil Lowndes’—a communications expert—book, “How to Talk to Anyone: 92 Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships.”

Once you get past her cringey reference to effective communicators as “big cats”—it pains me even more to type this than read this—”How to Talk to Anyone” is chocked full of helpful tips for introverts out there to navigate small talk and more.

I think a career in academic medicine is most fun and rewarding when I’m proactive about networking and building new collaborations. Therefore, this is a book I find myself returning to every once in a while when I am slipping from ambivert back to introvert—a regular cycle for me.

Yes, this books sounds gimmicky. That’s because it is. But that doesn’t mean that it’s not worth a read. You might just take a few of Lowndes’ tips and actually use them like me…for instance, sticky eyes, whatzit, and whoozat. Like I said, the book is gimmicky.

I’ll leave you with the most important quote I took away from the book.

Thank you for reading and have a fulfilling weekend!

If you have any suggestions for future features as a Bit, Base Pair, or Academic Musing, please respond to this email with your recommendations!

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