Captivate: The Science of Succeeding with People

Somehow I thought I could whip through this in a day and return it to the library before trotting off to other errands. No. I sat down and started to read it, and quickly realized I'd need to really sit and read it. It took me a few days. I took notes and was absolutely shocked at some of the things I learned. Namely, that I had better social skills that I realized, and that a family member of mine is openly contemptuous of me. She physically cannot keep her feelings off her face. I've had a lot of practice brushing off her insults over the years but she's crossed the line into depravity. I keep my distance and have been increasingly for years. On a lighter note, I liked how many personality styles were catered to in this. It's not a show more book that prizes extroversion by default.
This book is invaluable, and I hope it's widely read. show less

While prepping to give my first public speaking event I stumbled across Vanessa Van Edwards and her website Science of People. Vanessa has a passion for people, learning what makes us tick, why we act the way we do and how to use this information to become a better communicator. Understanding people is a big part of my job and I'm always looking for new tips and tricks I can use in my daily life. Turns out that her book Captivate is exactly what I was looking for and a whole lot more. Through her research Vanessa has found many science backed "hacks" and created a user manual for the rest of us on how to captivate anyone and build connections. She explains easy to follow strategies that apply to any sort of social interaction: show more conferences, parties, interviews, pitches, dating, etc. I was able to start using these strategies immediately and definitely see them helping with future interactions. Introvert or extrovert, social rock star or socially awkward, this book is for everyone.

I listened to the audio book read by the author. Vanessa's passion for her work shines through in her narration. As much as I enjoyed the audio, I need to buy a physical copy to use as a reference. show less

Overall a decent book that had some useful tips, entertaining anecdotes and a healthy serving of pseudo-science (According to a person who is studying to be counsellor).

I think, I mainly enjoyed the book because it made me really think hard about my social interactions and the people in my life, in an attempt to understand them better, even if sometimes the tools I was supposed to be using according to the book were pseudo-science, it was still a thought provoking exercise that instilled a sense of empathy (Which is never a bad thing).

However, I disliked the ample dosage of childish phrases like "hacking your conversations" or "levelling up your social intelligence", I felt like they took away from the overall message of the book.

But show more perhaps I wasn't the intended audience which seems to be nerdy social awkward introverted people (Paraphrasing the author here) which I don't really identify with. show less

Captivate is one of the best books I’ve read on the subject of how to understand and interact with people in the last half decade.

The “academics who did a study on college seniors and now tell you how people tick” genre has exploded recently. While there are good nuggets and insights in those books. They are heavy on the author’s biased reasons why and not on actionable – as in you can use it today – techniques. Vanessa’s book is practical. It is written from the perspective of someone trying to build a business, get a date, or just have a good party.

This is real world stuff for people living in the real world.

Just finished reading this while I wait for her other book to arrive. By page 60, I already recommended it to someone else. Definitely worth a read.

Read this book as an audiobook while on vacation. I enjoyed it. It felt a bit overwhelming in terms of the model laid out in the book. The author frequently refers to a website where additional material can be downloaded. I'd say that is a good idea if you want to get the most out of the book. I enjoyed the balance between the author's own experience/research and citing outside research.

Besides the irritating pls go to my website for more info, I think the strategies taught are pretty good.