‘Rethinking’ training: Consider a cognitive spin

I just finished reading Magic Words: What to Say to Get Your Way, by Jonah Berger, a marketing professor at the Wharton School of Business. It’s especially useful to HR professionals, who are often tasked with training duties and helping improve employee performance. Here are three training gems Berger offers.

Gem No. 1: Leverage the power of the concrete

We all share the desire to be heard, understood, and acknowledged. Consider customer service. Cognitive researchers conduct studies along these lines. For example, a shoe salesperson is waiting on a customer and is fielding a customer request to find a specific type of shoe. Which response is the best?

·     (a) “I will go look for them.”