I help you deliver better presentations and more effective education so you build a solid connection with your audience.
10 cognitive biases that stop you thinking clearly
Hey Reader,
I'm a giant overthinker.
I constantly worry about what mistakes I've made, who is judging me, and what I should have done differently.
Our cognitive biases hold us back.
Here are 10 cognitive biases you need to know about, so you can think clearly and make good decisions:
1: The spotlight effect.
As humans, we believe we are being thought of by other people way more than we are.
We tend to think others judge us constantly.
This holds us back.
In reality people are more worried about themselves and don’t have time to think about you.
Action: It might seem weird, but try to remind yourself regularly "You're not that important".
2: The emotional seesaw effect.
Some days you feel you’re a legend in your field.
On other days you feel completely inadequate.
When we let our emotions overwhelm us, it stops us thinking clearly.
Action: When you feel strong emotions, remind yourself that it will pass.
3: The ambiguity effect.
If we have two options:
- Option 1 has all the info available
- Option 2 has unknowns
We tend to go for the option with certainty.
EVEN if that option may be less likely to succeed.
Action: don't assume that because there are unknown factors that means it's too risky.
4: The Delmore Effect.
We can provide more articulate + specific goals for lower priority areas of our lives.
We tend to focus on the low hanging fruit in our lives.
And we neglect the bigger items.
But it’s the bigger stuff that will transform our happiness.
Action: don't sweat the small stuff and make time to see the bigger picture.
5: The framing effect.
We are more likely to choose an option if it’s framed positively to us, rather than when it is presented as a risk.
Often we choose the worst option, just because it’s been framed in a positive light.
Action: Instead of taking things on face value, we should dig deep to fully evaluate.
6: All or nothing thinking.
We tend to think in extremes.
- I won or I lost
- My team is brilliant or awful
- That decision was right or wrong
But real life is in the in-between.
And a right decision doesn’t always lead to a great outcome.
Action: Remember that things are rarely black and white and decision-making is complex.
7: The peak-end rule.
Humans tend to judge an experience based on we felt at its peak (i.e. it was brilliant, or it was terrible).
We don’t judge it based on the average of the whole experience.
Therefore, we neglect key factors when we make decisions based on an event.
Action: think through the entire event and try to balance all aspects of it when you make a judgement
8: The pseudocertainty effect.
We tend to perceive an outcome as certain, when actually it is not.
Often there are multiple stages of the decision with uncertainty.
We remove the early uncertain stages when we weigh up the subsequent ones. Because this is easier for us.
Action: Make sure you aren't skimming over uncertainty, and consider all elements that will affect the outcome.
9: The Google effect.
We tend to forget information that we know we can find easily online.
We remember the location of the information, but not the content.
This means we make decisions that aren’t necessarily based on all the info we need.
Action: always look up additional info to make your decision.
10: The third person effect.
As humans, we think that mass media messages have a bigger effect on others than they do ourselves.
We over-estimate the effect of the message on others.
We under-estimate the effect of it on ourselves.
Action: remember that if it's affecting other people, it's probably affecting you too.
See you next week.
P.S. Whenever you are ready, here are 2 things I can do for you.
- If you are an entrepreneur, founder, or CEO and you want to get to your next 10k Twitter followers and grow your network, I have space for one more client this month so shoot me an email.
- I've just started a new presentation coaching programme and am taking on a few new clients. Just send me an email if you want to deliver better presentations that leaves your audience inspired and ready to take action.
Simply Connect
by Tessa Davis
I help you deliver better presentations and more effective education so you build a solid connection with your audience.
This is a special 3 part email series. If you missed the previous you can catch up by reading part 1 and part 2 here (they’re a 2 minute read). Yesterday I promised to tell you how to stand out from the pack as an interview candidate in 2023. Now I’ll be honest. It’s rather strange writing this because, not that long ago, I was stuck being the interview candidate who never got THAT call. My years as a trainee were anything but ‘standing out from the pack’. Every interview I did I seemed to...
This is a special 3 part email series. If you missed yesterday’s, we discussed why geography ISN’T the most important benefit of securing your consultant job. You read it here. I grew up in Glasgow. Which might sound pretty cool, but I was NOT one of the cool kids. I was in the Debating Society and was ALWAYS in the chorus in the school musical. I think you get the picture. It was a rugby school and it was full of smart people. In spite of being a Debating Nerd, I coped well. Me and my sister...
I was ecstatic when I got my substantive NHS Consultant job. If you've ever spent years dreaming of something, you'll appreciate just how stressful the thought of failing is. But I'm surprised about what's made the biggest difference since I got the job... I thought it would be staying in one place. As a trainee I'd worked in over 30 different jobs. That feeling of having to prove yourself over and over again is....urghhh. The thing is… I thought staying in the same place would be the best...