Open up your mind and say, ahh...

Josh Tolan is the CEO of Spark Hire, a video-powered hiring network that connects job seekers and employers through video resumes and online interviews. Connect with him and Spark Hire on Facebook and Twitter.

You’ve researched the company and practiced your interview answers. What else is there to worry about? Unfortunately, many candidates flub their interview attire and make themselves undesirable hires in the process. Here are some of the worst fashion horror stories and what you can learn before you suit up for your next job interview:

You’re Not an Employee Yet

Companies come in all different shapes and sizes — and all different levels of formality. One of the biggest mistakes job seekers make is to show up for the interview dressed like an employee instead of a candidate.

“Since we’re a casual work environment with no dress code, we occasionally get the candidate that matches our attire and it comes off as overly presumptuous, overconfident or just plain sloppy,” said August Nielsen, HR Manager of Veterans United Home Loans.

Instead, you should dress for a job at least one rung on the career ladder above the one for which you’re applying. This will be highly impressive to your interviewer and show just how seriously you’re taking this opportunity. Plus, it will convey the message to your potential employer that you’re interested in moving up and bettering yourself.

“I also interviewed a guy that wore old tennis shoes with a suit. What was that all about?” Nielsen wondered. “They weren’t even new tennis shoes.”

Remember, the interview is not the right moment to try out a quirky new style. You’re not Mark Zuckerberg, and hoodies or old tennis shoes won’t make an impressive interview statement.

You Forgot Your Pants

A recent survey showed six out of ten companies use video interviews in the hiring process. So, chances are, you’ll have one — and you can’t afford to think the video interview is somehow less formal than a face-to-face meeting — it’s not.

Just because the interviewer is looking directly at your top half doesn’t mean you can ignore what you wear below the waist.

“We had a candidate who was very impressive from the waist up,” said Sandi Webster, Principal for Consultants 2 Go. “However, he had to run to his printer for a sheet we had sent and he was wearing pajama bottoms.”

It’s important to dress exactly as you would for any in-person meeting. While video interviewing provides the luxury of interviewing from home, you should still present yourself as if you’re going to the office. Not only does it help you avoid the pajama debacle, but also it helps give you a psychological edge. If you’re dressed for the part, you’ll be more likely to act the part, as well.

You’re Repping Other Companies

Because your clothes tell a story about your candidacy, if you don’t pay attention to the small details, employers will think you’ll miss the big picture on the job as well.

“If you’re interviewing at LL Bean, don’t wear J. Crew. If you’re interviewing at CNA Insurance, please don’t carry a portfolio emblazoned with the Prudential logo,” said Lida Citroen, branding specialist and founder of LIDA360. “These small missteps make the interviewer question your attention to detail and commitment to going the extra mile for the job.”

Instead, keep things neutral. It’s good practice to stay away from loud prints or company logos altogether, which might be a distraction anyway. So, swap your branded briefcase for a plain case to avoid any issues.

You Didn’t Check the Thermometer

Job interviews make many candidates extremely nervous. If you live in a hot climate or your interview is during a hot summer day, this can be a recipe for a sweaty disaster.

Resume writer and career counselor Gaye Weintraub remembers a job candidate who showed up for the job interview with professional attire that was too tight, and he had giant sweat stains under his arms.

“While he dressed appropriately for his interview, it was difficult to get past the sweat stains and his unbelievably red face. I felt sorry for him, which is not the type of reaction any job seeker wants from an interviewer,” Weintraub said.

It’s important not to forget you are only human, and the combination of nerves and raising temperatures can be lethal. Instead, Weintraub advises candidates to bring an extra shirt along if the temperatures rise and the candidate is prone to sweating. This way, job seekers can change in a nearby bathroom before the interview and appear fresh and ready for the actual meeting.

“I tell my clients that it takes an interviewer only a few seconds to form an opinion of them. It is imperative that when they walk into the room, they are well-groomed, well-dressed, smell nice and have a smile,” Weintraub said.

You Treated the Interview Like a Tailgate

You want to dress for your interview, not for your next social engagement. Catherine Bell, former fashion designer and President of PRIME Impressions tells the story of how a man showed up for a mass interview for Sears wearing shorts and a sleeveless tank top. To top it all off, he was also holding an open can of beer in his hand.

“He obviously had another agenda outside of landing a job that day,” Bell said.

Carving out time in your hectic life for an interview can be tough, especially if you already have a job keeping you busy. It’s important, however, to focus all your attention on the interview at hand, instead of what else you have going on for the rest of the day. Turn off your mobile devices so nothing will beep, vibrate or chirp during your interview. And if you’re planning on tailgating after your interview, leave the drinks in the cooler.

If you can avoid some of these fashion pitfalls, you’ll be able to impress hiring managers with your appearance, so what you wear doesn’t detract from what you say.

What are some of the worst job-interview fashion mistakes you’ve seen? Share in the comments.

Part of an ongoing series dedicated to small businesses

As you read this, the business landscape is shifting right under your company’s foundation. How customers make decisions, how they discover, communicate, and share, how they influence and are influenced, is evolving considerably. In fact, customer behavior is not only changing, it’s fragmenting and opening the door to new touch points. Your business will now have to compete for the customers you know and additionally, a new breed of customers that you need to know. And, to earn their attention and ultimately their loyalty, you will need to better understand the top technology trends and how they’re impacting customer behavior.

At the heart of this customer divide is technology. But this isn’t about the technology we once knew, such as PCs, laptops, iPods, ebook readers, DVRs, etc. This change in consumerism is the inevitable result of disruptive technology and how it has affected behavior and reshaped expectations. Smart phones, social networks, apps, gamified everything, Google Glasses, self-driving cars, smart appliances, the list goes on, are placing consumers at the center of their own universe connected to one another through shared experiences. This plugged-in and always-on customers are learning to see the world differently. They’re empowered and they’re entitled. As a result, disruptive technology is grooming customers to expect information and opportunities to find them.

Everything starts with surveying the landscape for how you reach customers today and how their behavior and expectations are shifting. But this is also about the people you don’t reach now. This research will help understand how to appeal to a new type of customer as well.

If you thought that having a social media strategy and presences in the most popular social networks was enough, think again. What of adding social buttons to your website or in your email blasts? Still not enough? How about developing apps for iPhone and Android platforms? Nope. That’s not the right approach.

It takes research to truly understand how customer segmentation is materializing and how new technologies introduce opportunities to engage effectively with each group. More importantly, it takes interpretation, strategy, and a culture of innovation to recognize and prioritize these new opportunities and execute against them while windows for engagement are open.

Just like customer service, sales, and marketing, technology and your ability to translate trends into opportunities, are now part of your everyday business strategy. To what extent disruptive technology impacts your customer landscape, differs from industry to industry and it is your research that reveals where to concentrate and balance your focus and investments. To help, I’ve assembled a list of 10 current trends to evaluate . But, this is just the beginning. Use this list to build a regiment of research and innovation within your business now and over time.

10 movements to review for opportunities…

1. Social Networks from Facebook to Twitter to Google+ and how they’re connecting to influencers and businesses (note: pay attention to nicheworks as well such as Path and Instagram.)

2. Geolocation check-in services such as Foursquare and Facebook location updates to share locations and earn rewards or opportunities for discounts

3. Crowdsourced discounts and deals including Groupon and LivingSocial and what’s valued and why

4. Social commerce services like Shopkick and Armadealo and how they create personalized experiences that are worth sharing

5. Referral based solutions like Yelp, Service Magic (now HomeAdvisor), and Angie’s List to make informed decisions and how shared experiences can improve your business, products, and services

6. Gamification platforms such as Badgeville and Fangager, and why rewarding engagement improves commerce and loyalty

7. How your consumers using mobile devices today and what apps they’re installing. Also, how they’re comparing options, reviewing experiences and making decisions while mobile?

8. The online presence your business produces across a variety of platforms such as tablets, smartphones, laptops and desktops. You must realize how consumers are experiencing the online presences you create and whether or not they deliver a holistic and optimized experience for each platform.

9. The consumer clickpath based on the platform consumers are using. Are you steering experiences based on the expectations of your customers? And are you taking into consideration the device or network where the clickpath begins and ends? Are you integrating Facebook F-commerce and m-commerce into the journey?

10. The expectations of connected consumers, what they value in each channel and platform, where they engage and how your business can improve experiences and make them worthy of sharing.

What would you add?

No company is too big to fail or too small to succeed. Simply knowing your customer is one thing. The connected customers does not replace your traditional customer, they simply introduce new opportunities to grow your business. How you’re marketing, selling, and servicing customers today are in many ways missing these important customers and thus limiting your ability for engagement and growth.

Understanding how connected customers make decisions informs more meaning strategies and ultimately effective and engaging programs, products, and services. Now more than ever, the future of business isn’t created, it’s co-created.

Originally published at AT&T’s Networking Exchange Blog

Chart: Shutterstock

Gabriel Orozco, the 50-year-old Mexican-American artist, debuts a much anticipated exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum this week. The show’s title–Asterisms–is a word that refers to the recognizable patterns that constellations form when viewed from the earth’s surface. It couldn’t be a more appropriate term to apply to the work on view, and for that matter, Orozco’s diverse body of work as a whole.

Orozco is a dynamic figure. Each major exhibition of his work has contained new surprises. As an emerging artist in New York City two decades ago, he caught the attention of the art world with Yielding Stone, in which he rolled a ball of modelling clay from his studio to the gallery, picking up dirt and debris until the ball weighed hundreds of pounds. The next year, in 1993, he unveiled the now-classic La DS, a Citroën that seems to have had its middle section surgically removed, without a trace. In 2006 he (and a team of 20) recovered and reconstructed a massive whale skeleton in the Tate Modern. His work is lyrical, almost riddle-like, dancing at the edge of the famous question, “what is ‘art.’”

Asterisms is, like Yielding Stone, a study of a universe normally ignored: human-made detritus. At the Guggenheim, Orozco has carefully curated two collections of objects–each numbering around 1,200 pieces–recovered by the artist. The collections come from two locations. Sandstars was collected on Orozco’s walks through Isla Arena, a wildlife preserve on the Baja coast–the same beach where he extracted the whale skeleton for his 2006 installation. On a series of walks through the reserve, which is a mating ground and cemetery for whales, Orozco began collecting pieces of human refuse–lightbulbs, buoys, and other industrial trash–caught in the tidal currents and deposited along the shoreline. In the Guggenheim, he’s organized the pieces by color and type, creating a perfectly arranged taxonomy of trash. Running alongside the installation, large format photo collages document each individual piece, right down to the diversity of chewed gum, in pictures.

The second collection comes from the fields at Pier 40, on Manhattan’s west side, where thousands of soccer games and other outdoor activities take place on nice weekends. Orozco visits the fields to practice one of his hobbies–throwing boomerangs–and began the process of collecting and cataloging the things he found lodged in the astroturf. Astroturf Constellation/i is far more granular than Sandstars, dealing with tiny pieces of junk food bags, frayed pieces of soccer balls, beads and unidentified threads, all carefully arranged in low vitrines on the gallery floor. Like constellations, the objects form patterns and shapes beneath the glass.

There’s something immensely pleasing–especially for those who enjoy things organized neatly–about the ultrafine detail of Asterisms. Like the title suggests, it contains traces of untold universes and galaxies, which would have gone unnoticed but for the artist’s eagle eye. Orozco is the son of a Communist muralist, and has said that his work tries to avoid the romance of that medium. In an interview with the Economist, he says, “I come from a country where a lot of art is labelled surrealist. I grew up with it and I hate that kind of dreamlike, evasive, easy, poetic, sexual, cheesy surrealist practice. I try to be a realist.”

Asterisms is realism, for sure, but it also shows Orozco speaking in poetry, despite himself.

The show is on view until January 13, 2013.

I often talk about how in this era of digital and connected consumerism, we as organizations and individuals can live a meaningful, recommendable and shareable life. I’ve asked Paul M. Rand, President/CEO of Zocalo Group to his recent commencement at Northwestern University as it helps us see the world a bit different…even if for but a moment.

But before you embark on this next journey, I’d like to share a simple, yet incredibly powerful insight with you.

If you follow this insight, you will never go astray personally. You will become one of the best and most sought after marketers around.

If you follow this insight, you will have a roadmap for your life. You’ll save thousands of dollars in therapy. You’ll have a clear sense of purpose.

If you follow this insight, you’ll be able to develop precise and impactful marketing strategies. You’ll shape brands. And guide organizations.

Quite a build up, eh?

So, here it is: Live a Recommendable Life.

Let me say it again: If you want to succeed personally and professionally, live a recommendable life.

Let me tell you what I mean.

About a month ago, Nielsen published a compelling marketing study. The headline? 92% of respondents reported that a positive recommendation from a friend, family member or someone they trust is the biggest influence on whether they buy a product or service. In comparison, only 42% trust radio advertising and 58% trust editorial content.

Think of that. 92%.

Unfortunately, the opposite also holds true. In fact, 67% of consumers in another study report that seeing as few as three negative reviews is enough for them to not buy a product or service.

Recommendations and word of mouth, of course, have always been important. But in the age of social media, they are essential. One to one communication has become one to millions. Word of mouth is now on steroids.

This change, of course, is profoundly affecting the marketing world. How a product or service is talked about and recommended is becoming recognized as one of the most essential, if not the most essential, part of the marketing mix.

This change also affects our personal lives. Business Week recently ran an article titled: College Graduates’ Best Job Bet: Word of Mouth. At least half of all jobs, the article pointed out, come from referrals from friends, families and colleagues. What matters most, the writer concludes, is a positive recommendation.

Today, you must think of yourself as a brand – a brand worthy of a passionate recommendation by your friends, family, and co-workers.

Some of the most brilliant minds in business can argue incessantly about marketing strategy. But ask them how they want their product to be talked about and they get focused very quickly. That clear purpose should drive all marketing strategies. It most certainly drives search. It drives product differentiation. It drives people to buy – or not to buy. And it is extraordinarily measureable.

I can tell you that from working with some of the world’s leading brands that word of mouth success doesn’t happen by accident. It’s the result of a deliberate strategy and consistent day-to-day — and year-to-year — execution.

This same insight applies to each of our own lives. Chances are you counted on recommendations from professors and employers to get into the IMC program. Same thing for getting a job after graduation.

What’s most compelling to me is that the proven foundations and principles of driving recommendations for brands are almost identical to those that shape personal recommendations.

So, after many years of learning how influence, recommendations, and word of mouth work, I’d like to offer five key lessons.

Number 1: Develop a clear and purposeful story of how you want people to talk about and recommend both you and your brands

➢ It’s a simple question that needs to be answered: How do you want to be talked about and recommended – as a person, a son or daughter, a parent, grandchild, friend, partner, spouse, employee, child of God, business leader – whatever the case.

➢ Same thing, of course, applies to any brands you are marketing. Buyers have a staggering amount of choices. Why would someone recommend your product or service over another?

Number 2: Live Your Brand

➢ It’s as simple as that. If you want to be recommended as a thoughtful and caring friend – make sure you are always a thoughtful and caring friend.

➢ If you want your brand to be recommended for having the most advanced features and design – make sure your energy and focus goes into owning that role and not ceding it to competitors.

Number 3: Be Human, Transparent and Live Up to Mistakes Quickly

➢ Yes. We need to live our brands. But we are human beings. And our brands and organizations are run by human beings. So, we and our brands will occasionally veer off course and make mistakes.

- In this era of social media, consumer journalism and always on news, years of thoughtfully lived lives or well managed brands can be undone in astonishingly short order

- Own it when you or your brand goofs up. Fix what you can and ask forgiveness when needed.

Number 4: Stay engaging and interesting

➢ Ever been cornered by the party bore? They drone on about themselves. Don’t ask you any questions. And seem oblivious to anyone’s needs or interests beyond their own.

➢ Marketing success used to be defined by how well we could interrupt consumers and compel them to give us their attention. Success today, on the other hand, is based on how well we engage our audiences before, during and after the sale.

➢ This doesn’t happen by accident. We often talk to brands about following the 90/10 rule. Spend 90% of your time on your social channels listening, paying attention and engaging with your consumers on their terms. And 10% of the time talking about yourself. Not a bad approach for life either.

And finally, Number 5: Regularly evaluate and evolve – but stay true to your core

➢ People and brands must always evolve. Lives and markets change.

- Take time to be introspective and ensure that you are living the life – and being recommended – in the ways that you want to be. It’s good – actually it’s essential – to evolve, change and grow. Same thing for the brands we represent.

- But don’t let these changes happen by accident or get forced into them. Then it’s often too late. Take ownership of your life and your brands.

It’s a few years old, but many of you may have seen the movie, Saving Private Ryan. As the story goes, all of Private Ryan’s brothers had been killed in WW II. A team of soldiers, led by Tom Hanks, was sent to retrieve the Private before he too was killed – and his mother had no more sons.

After many dramatic encounters and lives lost, there’s a fierce final battle. Hanks is seriously wounded. With his dying breath, Hanks looks at the Private and says, “James, Earn This. Earn it.”

In the ending scene, Private Ryan is an old man. He and his adult children and grandchildren have gone to Arlington National Cemetery to pay respects to Hanks’ character. The Private looks at his wife and says, “Please tell me that I am a good man. That I’m a good husband and father. That I earned being saved.”

In other words, what he really wanted to know was whether he had lived a Recommendable Life.

Being recommendable is a very commendable goal for us. And essential for the brands we represent.

Congratulations, graduates. What you have accomplished so far is amazing. And I’m willing to bet you have just begun. Now go and create your own recommendable life.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

The story of Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash, a helicopter, and how thinking a little bit bigger about networking will get you a lot further.

Landing a helicopter on Johnny Cash’s lawn unannounced in the late ‘60s is the kind of thing that could put you on the wrong end of a shotgun. But for country legend Kris Kristofferson, it’s the stunt that finally made Cash take notice of the songwriter.

Kristofferson had tired of the handing off demo tapes to Cash and his associates to no avail. It wasn’t getting him anywhere because Cash wasn’t even listening to them. (Cash later told Kristofferson he threw the tapes in the lake.)

Instead of giving up, Kristofferson decided to go guerrilla. By thinking big, thinking creatively, and using the resources at hand, the former Army pilot was able to cut through the noise of ho-hum networking and stand out from the crowd of Nashville songwriters hoping the Man in Black would record their songs.

It was a high risk, high reward approach–and one that’s become near-apocryphal in the details–but that’s what guerrilla networking is about. And as long as the risks are measured, payoff can be big. “I think there’s a big risk in any type of networking or marketing endeavor,” says Monroe Mann, author of Guerrilla Networking: A Proven Battle Plan to Attract the Very People You Want to Meet. “But if you’re trying to play it safe, you’re probably not going to get noticed.”

To break the tedium of traditional networking, Mann advocates that people stop trying to meet as many people as they can. Instead, he says, seriously consider what kind of person other people in your field want to meet–and then be that person. “Networking isn’t about just banging on doors over and over. If you have nothing to offer to other people, it doesn’t matter how persistent you are. Johnny Cash probably said ‘If this guy has the creativity to do this, maybe his music is just as creative.’”

As an actor and filmmaker, (with a film out that showed at the Cannes Film Festival recently) Mann has had success using guerrilla networking tactics to navigate a very competitive industry. Here are some tips from his playbook.

Consider Your Audience

Thinking only of what you want to get out of a networking contact is not only self-centered, but anti-productive. You’ll be viewed as a parasite–you want to be viewed as an asset. If you can sit down and figure out what your target wants and needs, you’re more likely to be welcomed in.

The good news is that everybody needs something. “If you want to meet Steven Spielberg, think about who he wants to meet,” says Mann. “He wants to meet a guy with an amazing script. He wants to meet somebody that can introduce him to 20 million bucks.”

Produce Your Own Projects

As a struggling actor, Mann was blue in the face begging for acting parts. It seemed a waste of energy, so he put his efforts into producing his own films. Soon, his inbox was filling up. “All of a sudden I wasn’t just a stupid actor. Now I was a filmmaker. I was a producer. I had hundreds of people people sending me head shots, I had cast directors saying ‘we can help you.’”

Having a product to show people pulled a lot more weight than trying to convince others he was a good actor. “A world opened up because I had become the kind of person that all these people wanted to meet.”

Don’t Rush It

People tend to approach networking as a numbers game, thinking the more at bats, the more likely they are to get a hit. But Mann suggests people take more time to create a solid strategy before spending time implementing it. “People do traditional networking by just pushing their way in and giving out business cards thinking that’s what’s going to make progress.”

Guerrilla networking takes more time and effort but ultimately the results are often superior. “It takes longer because you’ve got to think creatively like Kristofferson did, and it may take resources to put that into play–a helicopter, finding where to land, clearing it with FAA or whatever it may be. That’s a lot more than just trying to put it in the mail.”

Be Memorable

Several years ago, Mann employed a small but very creative tactic in order to get the attention of agents in Canada: He sent agents checks for a million dollars, writing “void” on the back, but also indicating that that could be their payday if they worked with him. “It was enough for them to remember the name ‘Monroe Mann,’” says Mann, who got ten or fifteen calls back and couple agents representing him.

Don’t Fear Rejection

Basically, you have to be willing to fail when it comes to guerrilla networking. But there are some calculations that can be made when determining whether an idea is worth the risk. “Whenever I make these decisions,” says Mann, “I’ll often brainstorm what’s the worst that can happen if I do this and then write down all the different possible scenarios. You don’t want to cross over the line from persistent to a pest–or god forbid you get a restraining order against you.”

Image: Flickr user Steven Martin

The default to emotion is part of the human condition.

To better appreciate the role of emotion and what it allows an audience to do, we need to take a brief detour into evolutionary biology. The human brain can be understood as three separate brains working in tandem, if not completely integrated with each other.

The primitive brain and the limbic brain collectively make up the limbic system, which governs emotion. Within the limbic system, there is a structure called the amygdala, which leaders need to understand.

When faced with a stimulus, the amygdala turns our emotions on. It does so instantaneously, without our having to think about it. We find ourselves responding to a threat even before we’re consciously aware of it. Think of jumping back when we see a sudden movement in front of us, or being startled by the sound of a loud bang. We also respond instantaneously to positive stimulus without thinking about it: Note how we tend to smile back when someone smiles at us; how we are immediately distracted when something we consider beautiful enters our line of sight.

The amygdala is the key to understanding an audience’s emotional response, and to connecting with an audience. It plays an important role in salience, what grabs and keeps our attention. In other words, attention is an emotion-driven phenomenon. If we want to get and hold an audience’s attention, we need to trigger the amygdala to our advantage. Only when we have an audience’s attention can we then move them to rational argument.

I have become somewhat notorious in the programs I teach at NYU for the way I start each class. I teach all-day sessions on Saturdays, and as the 9 a.m. start time approaches, most students are still milling about, getting settled, and chatting with each other. At precisely 9 a.m. I touch a button on my remote mouse and play a sudden blast of very loud music. Most of the time it’s the chorus of “Let’s Get It Started” by the Black Eyed Peas, but to keep the element of surprise I sometimes vary the selection. After a 10-second burst of very loud music, I have every student’s undivided attention. I then lock in the connection: I smile, welcome them, thank them for investing a full Saturday in developing their careers. Only then do I begin the class. I have hijacked their amygdalas. We need audiences to feel first, and then to think.

Five Strategies for Audience Engagement

When leaders are speaking to audiences that are under stress–even if the audience is merely tired or distracted–the leader can take the amygdala into account in determining how the content is structured and how the audience is engaged. Here are five ways to engage effectively:

1. Establish connection before saying anything substantive. And remember that the connection is physical. Techniques to connect include asking for the audience’s attention, if only with a powerful and warm greeting, followed by silence and eye contact. The key is to make sure the audience isn’t doing something else so that they pay attention.
2. Say the most important thing first once you have their attention. The most important thing should be a powerful framing statement that will control the meaning of all that follows. Remember that frames have to precede facts.
3. Close with a recapitulation of the powerful framing statement that opened the presentation.
4. Make it easy to remember. Keep in mind how hard it is for people to listen, hear, and remember. One way is to repeat key points. I often hear from clients, “But I’ve already said this. I don’t need to say it again.” Or, “I don’t want to say it again.” Or, “If I have to say this again, I’ll throw up. I’m tired of repeating myself.” But leaders need to constantly repeat the key themes, within any given presentation, and in general as a matter of organizational strategy. It doesn’t matter if they’re bored with saying it. The audience needs to hear it, again and again. And again. As a general principle, people need to hear things three times if they are to even pay attention to it. And because any given audience member at any time may be distracted or inattentive, he or she is unlikely to hear or attend to everything that is said. So leaders need to repeat key points far more than three times to be sure that everyone has heard it at least three times. One of the burdens of leadership is to have a very high tolerance for repetition.
5. Follow the rule of threes. Have three main points. But no more than three main points; no more than three topics; no more than three examples per topic. Group thoughts in threes; words in threes; actions in threes. (See how I just used the Rule of Threes in that sentence?) Think of Abraham Lincoln in the Gettysburg Address: “We cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground.”

The default to emotion is part of the human condition. The amygdala governs the fight-or-flight impulse, the triggering of powerful emotions, and the release of chemicals that put humans in a heightened state of arousal. Humans are not thinking machines. We’re feeling machines who also think. We feel first, and then we think. As a result, leaders need to meet emotion with emotion before they can move audiences with reason.

The following is an adapted excerpt from The Power of Communication: Skills to Build Trust, Inspire Loyalty, and Lead Effectively by Helio Fred Garcia, printed with permission from FT Press, a publishing imprint of Pearson.

Image: Flickr user Howie Le

Apple may be considering the release of a budget-priced MacBook Air to compete against the upcoming second wave of ultrabooks, according to a new report.

Citing unnamed sources in Apple’s supply chain, tech site Digitimes is reporting that the company might introduce a MacBook Air priced at $799 in the third quarter of this year — right in time for the back-to-school season.

It’s key to note that the DigiTimes has a hit-or-miss track record for nailing predictions.

If the rumors are true, the MacBook Air could hit shelves with a price cheaper than its other models, including its latest 11-inch 64GB MacBook Air ($999), 11-inch 128GB version ($1,199) and 13-inch 128GB model ($1,299). The line also features a 256GB version that is priced at $1,599.

The launch of a less expensive MacBook Air could put ultrabooks at a huge disadvantage.

Ultrabooks – which are ultra-slim laptops typically under 0.8 inches thick – have become a hot “it” device in computing, giving on-the-go users a lightweight, full-computer alternative. However, ultrabook sales haven’t been blockbuster right out of the gate as many consumers have turned their attention to the growing tablet market.

However, it’s been reported that Dell’s XP13 ultrabook ($999) experienced strong sales that exceeded expectations since it’s launch in February. The XPS 13, which touts a 13-inch display in a compact 12-inch frame and weighs in at only 2.99 pounds, runs on Windows 7. It also features Intel Core i3 processors, but it can also be upgraded to Intel Core i7 processors.

Meanwhile, some believe that ultrabooks overall won’t achieve strong sales until the launch of Windows 8.

Will you purchase a $799 MacBook Air if the rumors are true? Let us know in the comments.

If you want to be charismatic, your mind can’t wander while you’re one-on-one with a customer or colleague. Here’s a simple one-minute exercise to help you focus.

Charismatic behavior can be broken down into three core elements: presence, power, and warmth. These elements depend both on our conscious behaviors and on factors we don’t consciously control. People pick up on messages we often don’t even realize we’re sending through small changes in our body language.

In order to be charismatic, we need to choose mental states that make our body language, words, and behaviors flow together and express the three core elements of charisma. And presence is the foundation for everything else.

Have you ever felt, in the middle of a conversation, as if only half of your mind were present while the other half was busy doing something else? Do you think the other person noticed? If you’re not fully present in an interaction, there’s a good chance that your eyes will glaze over or that your facial reactions will be a split-second delayed. Since the mind can read facial expressions in as little as 17 milliseconds, the person you’re speaking with will likely notice even the tiniest delays in your reactions.

We may think that we can fake presence. We may think that we can fake listening. But we’re wrong. When we’re not fully present in an interaction, people will see it. Our body language sends a clear message that other people read and react to, at least on a subconscious level.

Not only can the lack of presence be visible, it can also be perceived as inauthentic, which has even worse consequences. When you’re perceived as disingenuous, it’s virtually impossible to generate trust, rapport, or loyalty. And it’s impossible to be charismatic.

Luckily, presence is a learnable skill that can be improved with practice and patience. Being present means simply having a moment-to-moment awareness of what’s happening. It means paying attention to what’s going on rather than being caught up in your own thoughts.

Now that you know the cost of lacking presence, try this exercise to test yourself and learn three simple techniques to boost your charisma in personal interactions.

First, find a reasonably quiet place where you can close your eyes (whether standing or sitting).
Set a timer for one minute. Close your eyes and focus on one of the following three things: the sounds around you, your breathing, or the sensations in your toes.

1. Scan your environment for sound. As a meditation teacher told me, “Imagine that your ears are satellite dishes, passively and objectively registering sounds.”
2. Focus on your breath and the sensations it creates in your nostrils or stomach. Pay attention to one breath at a time, but try to notice everything about this one breath. Imagine that your breath is someone you want to give your full attention to.
3. Focus your attention on the sensations in your toes. This forces your mind to sweep through your body, helping you to get into the physical sensations of the moment.

Did you find your mind constantly wandering even though you were trying your best to be present? As you’ve noticed, staying fully present isn’t always easy. There are two main reasons for this.

First, our brains are wired to pay attention to novel stimuli, whether they be sights, smells, or sounds. We’re wired to be distracted, to have our attention grabbed by any new stimulus: it could be important! It could eat us! This tendency was key to our ancestors’ survival. Imagine two tribesmen hunting through the plains, searching the horizon for signs of the antelope that could feed their family. Something flickers in the distance. The tribesman whose attention wasn’t immediately caught? He’s not our ancestor.

The second reason is that our society encourages distraction. The constant influx of stimulation we receive worsens our natural tendencies. This can eventually lead us into a state of continuous partial attention, in which we never give our full attention to any single thing. We’re always partially distracted.

So if you often find it hard to be fully present, don’t beat yourself up. Presence is hard for almost all of us. A study coauthored by Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert estimated that nearly half of the average person’s time was spent “mind wandering.”

The good news is that even a minor increase in your capacity for presence can have a major effect on those around you. Because so few of us are ever fully present, if you can manage even a few moments of full presence from time to time, you’ll make quite an impact.

The very next time you’re in a conversation, try to regularly check whether your mind is fully engaged or whether it is wandering elsewhere (including preparing your next sentence). Aim to bring yourself back to the present moment as often as you can by focusing on your breath or your toes for just a second, and then get back to focusing on the other person.

One of my clients, after trying this exercise for the first time, reported: “I found myself relaxing, smiling, and others suddenly noticed me and smiled back without my saying a word.”

Don’t be discouraged if you feel that you didn’t fully succeed in the one-minute exercise above. You actually did gain a charisma boost simply by practicing presence. And because you’ve already gained the mindset shift (awareness of the importance of presence and the cost of the lack of it), you’re already ahead of the game.

Image: Flickr user Paul Alegria