• Question: What psychological activities can you take part in to become a better businessman?

    Asked by anon-270020 on 23 Nov 2020.
    • Photo: Madeleine Steeds

      Madeleine Steeds answered on 23 Nov 2020:


      The psychology of advertising would probably be useful. Certain colours make people more interested in things than others for example.

    • Photo: Maggi Laurie

      Maggi Laurie answered on 23 Nov 2020:


      This is a great question. I think like Madeleine has suggested, understanding advertising and marketing would be particularly useful for increasing consumer engagement and targetting key stakeholders and customers. I also think having strong people skills, in empathy and negotiating, is important for managing and working with other people, especially when they are at different levels to you in the company. I also think you need to have an eye for evidence and to assess what things work and don’t work, to help you make effective decisions and plan ahead. There is a whole crossover area between psychology and business, and I definitely recommend looking for some books or podcasts if you’re interested in this area.

    • Photo: Lucy Oldham

      Lucy Oldham answered on 23 Nov 2020: last edited 23 Nov 2020 11:57 am


      Really interesting, I guess it depends what your business is, but generally knowing what motivates people and how to improve their wellbeing is a huge part of working in an area like business, which is fundamentally about working with other people. “Communication skills” is a phrase used a lot on CVs and can seem very woolly, but really knowing how to make people feel at ease, how to be assertive and how to manage people’s expectations make such a huge difference to pretty much any job I can think of!
      In terms of activities, having a job or a role with some responsibility (like baby-sitting or sports coaching) is a great way to develop these skills.

    • Photo: Parise Carmichael-Murphy

      Parise Carmichael-Murphy answered on 23 Nov 2020:


      I think lots of aspects of psychology are helpful when thinking about going into work – e.g. how to communicate with different people, how to recognise when someone you work with might benefit from your help or support, and also to be understanding and aware of the different interests and needs that people have

    • Photo: Simona Skripkauskaite

      Simona Skripkauskaite answered on 24 Nov 2020:


      Good question! Some understanding of organisational and social psychology, I think is very useful for every persons in business/management. So that covers how people interact in organisations, how they learn, under what circumstances they are happiest and most efficient. Some training one’s own skills like time engagement and emotion awareness could also come in useful.

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