Do you prefer talking about people -- or discussing ideas? For example, if you had a choice between chatting with your coworker about her neighbor's friend's cousin, or conversing about something more substantive -- say, human behavior, the future of the U.S. under Donald Trump, or research-backed ways to lose weight -- which would you choose? As you can probably guess, I strongly favor the latter. When it comes to people-centered conversations, I become very bored after a while unless the conversation concerns something impressive the subject has done (e.g., graduate with honors or start his own business). I find the most compelling conversations to be those I can (1) relate to, and (2) ultimately learn something from. For example, if I were looking to sell my property, I would take great interest in a friend's drawn-out speech on everything her sister went through to sell her townhouse. If I were looking to buy new tires for my car, I'd listen attentively to...

Have you ever encountered someone who doesn't know how and when to shut up? I can just picture you nodding your head. I don't think these people purposely do it to annoy others. They may not be cognizant of the fact that they go on and on far longer than others may care to listen. My coworker Veronica is this way. She talks about everything under the sun -- from her daughter's shopping habits to her dog's eating habits -- and doesn't know when to quit. Much to my chagrin, these drawn-out conversations -- what many of us would call chit-chat or small talk -- are usually devoid of substance. I would love to find people conversing about history, psychology, or the wonders of the universe for an hour, but that seldom happens. Those are the kinds of deep, enthralling subjects that great conversations are made of. Beyond that, there's an obvious reason a person shouldn't ramble on that long: a conversation consists of more than one person, and the othe...

Living in your head is generally frowned upon in this extrovert-loving society. Introspection simply isn't prized in a world where so many people are jockeying to have their voices heard. In fact, pensiveness is often mistaken for snobbishness or social anxiety. And those who aren't as loud and assertive don't earn as much respect and perks as their more boisterous peers. You'll notice that most job listings emphasize teamwork and list excellent oral communication skills as one of the requirements. You'd be hard-pressed to find an ad specifically looking for a deep thinker. Unfortunately, quiet introverts continue to be put into the same bucket as serial killers and others who perpetrate horrible crimes. What many fail to understand is this: Many people -- myself included -- find living in their heads a refreshing change from the daily grind. Introspective types would agree that reading books -- whether of the fiction or non-fiction variety -- transpor...

Studies have shown that people are capable of generating more creative ideas when they work alone as opposed to collaborating with group members. The reasons for this are simple and varied. When working in a group, there's a tendency for things to get political. People have vastly different ideas and suggestions, and not everyone is schooled in the art of compromise. Thus, it's not uncommon for group members to clash over what they think is the optimal solution to a problem -- theirs. Yet another stumbling block to creativity is what we call groupthink. It's when people feel pressure to agree with the "majority opinion" of the group -- even though they may disagree -- so as not to look like the lone dissenter. Thirdly, I have found that it takes longer to get stuff done when there are others involved. It may sound counterintuitive since there are more people involved to shoulder the work, but oftentimes group members get distracted and sidetracked, ultimatel...