Art Career Development

A classic guide to tricks and tactics for winning arguments, with commentary on the use of and defense against each tactic. The best summary of this audiobook is "being right doesn’t mean you’re gonna win, and this is why". It’s the ultimate guide to spotting the many different kinds of bull people pull in order to win over the crowd, rather than argue the point at hand. There’s very few of them that don’t immediately bring examples to mind, and having it laid out clearly like this is the perfect armour to stop people derailing you.

Creativity defines the human experience. It sparks achievement and innovation in art, science, technology, business, sports, and virtually every activity. It has fueled human progress on a global level, but it equally is the source of profound personal satisfaction for individual creators. And yet the origins of creative inspiration and the methods by which great creators tap into it have long been a source of mystery, spoken of in esoteric terms, our rational understanding shrouded in complex jargon. Until now.

Does talking about your accomplishments feel scary or icky because you're worried people will think you're "obnoxious"? Does it feel more natural to "put your head down and do the work"? Are you tired of watching the loudest people in your industry get disproportionate praise and rewards? If you answered "yes" to any of the above, you might be self-sabotaging. You need to learn to brag better. Meredith Fineman shares the surefire and anxiety-proof strategies that have helped her clients effectively communicate their achievements and skill sets to others.

The ability to listen and communicate effectively are vital skills, enabling us to motivate and influence people in our personal and professional lives. But all too often, we’re our own biggest roadblock. In The Art of Facilitation, Tina Frey Clements teaches you to master the art, (and even science) of facilitation and use it to your advantage. With more than 25 years of experience as a professional communicator, she shares tools and techniques to successfully deliver your message to any audience, from the board room to the classroom.

Upstart sheds light on the many successes and some of the challenges involved in navigating a top creative business in an ever-changing technological landscape. While it provides insights for those within the industry, this book also offers broader lessons intended for all entrepreneurs and business leaders.

In Flip Thinking, Berthold Gunster, the founder of the Dutch omdenken—or flip thinking—philosophy, presents fifteen strategies to transform your thinking away from limitations and negativities and towards possibilities and opportunities. From disrupting (turn all the rules upside down) to flaunting (play up what you want to hide) and from importing (get the enemy on board) to amplifying (do more of what works), Gunster's strategies and stories will have you approaching even the most challenging problems—from an annoying neighbor to an angry colleague to an unhappy partner—in a whole new way.

What if charisma could be taught? For the first time, science and technology have taken charisma apart, figured it out, and turned it into an applied science: In controlled laboratory experiments, researchers could raise or lower people's level of charisma as if they were turning a dial.

It sounds so simple: Tell stories from your life, and people will remember your message. But when you get down to crafting one, there's nothing easy about it. Material for stories surrounds us. Yet few people are skilled at sharing personal anecdotes and even fewer know how to link them to professional goals. Whether you want to stand out in the interview process, add punch to a presentation, or make a compelling case for a new initiative, Let the Story Do the Work shows you how to mine your experience for simple narratives that convey who you are.

The Fieldbook is an intensely pragmatic guide. It shows how to create an organization of learners where memories are brought to life, where collaboration is the lifeblood of every endeavor, and where the tough questions are fearlessly asked. The stories here show that companies, businesses, schools, agencies, and even communities can undo their “learning issues” and achieve superior performance. If ever a work gave meaning to the phrase hands-on, this is it.

As a teenager visiting the Andy Warhol Museum, Beth Pickens realized the importance of making art. As an adult, she has worked as a consultant empowering artists. Intimate yet practical, Your Art Will Save Your Life helps artists build a sustainable practice while navigating the world of MFAs, residencies, and institutional funding.

The creative mode in your brain is like a butterfly. It's beautiful and erratic, hard to catch, and highly valued as a result. If you want to capture it, you need a net. Enter the executive mode, the task-oriented network in your brain that helps you tie your shoes, run a meeting, or pitch a client. To succeed, you need both modes to work together - your inner butterfly to be active and free, but your inner net to be ready to spring at the right time and create that "aha!" moment. But is there any way to trigger these insights, beyond dumb luck?

Have you ever walked away from an argument and suddenly thought of all the brilliant things you wish you'd said? Do you avoid certain family members and colleagues because of bitter, festering tension that you can't figure out how to address? Now, finally, there's a solution: a new framework that frees you from the trap of unproductive conflict and pointless arguing forever.

In 2010, award-winning journalist John Bowe learned that his cousin Bill, a longtime extreme recluse living in his parents' basement, had, at the age of 59, overcome a lifetime of shyness and isolation - and gotten happily married. Bill credited his turnaround to Toastmasters, the world's largest organization devoted to teaching the art of public speaking.

The Art of War is an ancient Chinese military treatise from roughly the 5th century BC and attributed to Sun Tzu, "master sun". It is composed of 13 chapters, each devoted to a different set of skills or art related to warfare.

Your guide to becoming an explanation specialist. You've done the hard work. Your product or service works beautifully - but something is missing. People just don't see the big idea - and it's keeping you from being successful. Your idea has an explanation problem. The Art of Explanation is for business people, educators, and influencers who want to improve their explanation skills and start solving explanation problems.

Your projects, programs, and career turn on the difference between "no" and "yes". Yet selling ideas, especially the kinds of ideas that make organizations work, is a skill shrouded in mystery. Part emotional intelligence, part politics, part rhetoric, and part psychology, selling ideas is not like tricking someone out of his money. It's about helping others to see things your way: engaging their minds and imaginations.

From Jenniffer Weigel's radio show on WGN in Chicago called I'm Spiritual, Dammit! comes this collection of podcasts on spirituality in the business place. Included are interviews with Jennifer Connor, CEO of Mustard Girl Mustard, and Kathryn Guylay, author of Mountain Mantras: Wellness and Life Lessons from the Slopes.

If you’re serious about learning how to get back up, about being your own hero, about stepping up instead of stepping out, this book is for you. Bring commanding confidence to your work, to your venture, to your purpose. Feel the power, surge forward with resilience, knowing that you will get knocked down in this life, but you will never stay down. You have the unstoppable power of persistence. You embrace the optimism and challenge of always getting back up. You can enjoy the journey of a fully-lived life.

The top achievers learn the most and apply what they learn; therefore, there is no skill, information, or lesson more vital than learning how to learn. This book is a must-listen for business executives, entrepreneurs, people interested in personal development, trainers, teachers, and students. We live in a world where, more and more, we succeed based on what we know rather than what task we perform.

If you want to improve your conversational skills - and achieve greater levels of personal and professional success - The Art of Talking to Anyone is the ultimate book. Rosalie Maggio has built a career on teaching people how to say the right thing at the right time - and she's made her techniques available to you.