My quest to stay busy and productive during quarantine has led me to a habit I wanted to get better at for some time – I’ve been reading at least a chapter a day of a book.

Sometimes it’s for fun, sometimes it’s about money, but some of them are from my list of books other stage managers have recommended or that look interesting to me while I’m killing time at Penn Station perusing the Hudson Booksellers.

This book caught my eye on one of those trips because of it’s fun colored covered and the title – the soulful are of persuasion – what stage manager doesn’t want to master that?

The pretty cover make sense, as the author, Jason Harris, is a master ad man, with years of massive ad campaigns for giant companies under his belt. If that immediately makes you think of Mad Men and kind of wince, well, me too, but he does seem to have a soul, or at the very least, the book does.

The book breaks down the idea that persuasive people have four key traits: generosity, originality, empathy, and soulfulness.

Sounded legit to me. Within those four categories are eleven tips that use those traits to become more persuasive.

One of the things that I loved early on in this book was that Harris mentions that most of us already have a natural inclination to some of these traits. As I read through the book, I found that to be very true. There were some sections I read that I thought, but I do this. I do this without even thinking.

Of course, all of life is balance though, and there were a few sections where I thought, ah, yes, I do suck at this.

Is it just me or is it kind of funny to think of yourself in some of these terms though? I mean, I killed the generous section. That is the section I don’t even have to think about. I just try to live my life in the bubble of actions described there. But if you asked me to describe myself, I would never have thought to say “I’m generous.” It’s totally not the point of the book in any way, but it was a pleasant little bonus to realize that I probably am.

Funny story, I might have though to describe myself as fairly original, but that is the section I suck at. There is a lot of emphasis on the persuasive power of storytelling there and I am the worst storyteller I know. I have a low key long term goal to become a clearer communicator… though you probably can’t tell from my rambling and winding blog posts (which are pretty much exactly how I talk).

I am actually working on a class regarding that during this quarantine time too – if it’s any good I’ll leave a review when I’m done.

As far as the empathy section, I didn’t expect to have most of those traits, but again, I was pleasantly surprised. I am a good collaborator and I have more of an “it’s not me, it’s us” mentality.

One thing that I know I often struggle with is to be naturally curious about others. I’ve read that (worded in different ways) in so many books about communication and I have no idea how one develops this “natural” talent. Supposedly curiosity can be learned and Harris sums it up as “suppressing your sense that you know everything worth knowing.” I could be wrong, but this reads as though an extrovert and not an introvert who is literally fighting a state of panic every time she’s trying to make small talk.

It was one of the few areas of the book I took with a grain of salt – but also with a self-awareness that these are areas I struggle with and maybe I’m just in denial about how I perceive things. But maybe not.

I very much liked the recaps at the end of each chapter and the final thoughts at the end of each section.

This book is full of a lot of good stories and tips for improving the way others perceive you. I also like the emphasis on developing your own character rather than using “life hacks” and manipulative short cuts to get what you want.

Definitely worth a read and it’s got a place now on my list of recommended books for stage managers trying to develop their soft skills.

If you’re still interested, you can buy the book on Amazon (affiliate link) right here. And, of course, since you’re at a personal finance blog, I would be remiss to not mention you can probably find it cheaper on eBay or with a little Googling.