How Highly Effective People Speak summary

Ronald Reagan’s “A Time for Choosing” speech starts by making some clear distinctions. “You and I are told increasingly we have to choose between a left or right. Well, I’d like to suggest there is no such thing as a left or right. There’s only an up or down – [up] man’s old-aged dream, the ultimate in individual freedom consistent with law and order, or down to the ant heap of totalitarianism.” It’s not for nothing that Reagan didn’t just describe the “up” or the “ultimate in individual freedom,” but rather, also included reference to the “down” and the “ant heap of totalitarianism.”

When the subject of a message is presented in stark opposition to another, the contrast effect is at play. It’s a tremendously powerful cognitive bias, but in simple terms, we perceive black as blacker against white than we do if shown black alone.

Imagine being offered two investment options: option one has an expected return of $900 with a 100 percent success rate; option two has an expected return of $1,100 with a 90 percent success rate.

While most people will instinctively jump for option one, you know selecting such opportunities based on expected monetary value – or EMV – is best practice, so quickly run the math. The EMV – that is, return multiplied by probability – for option one is $900, but $990 for option two. The zero-risk bias accounts for why most people – albeit not you – fail to appreciate the increased EMV of the second option.

Before John F. Kennedy could put an American man on the moon, he had to give the speech that would get him here. And he did, at Rice University in 1962.

What’s striking about this speech – especially the introductory comments – is the abundance of compliments and pleasantries Kennedy litters these first minutes with. He’s only two sentences in when he praises the college “noted for knowledge, in a city noted for progress, in a State noted for strength.” Why did the leader of the nation feel compelled to be so effusive?

Here’s a little-known fact: the expression “rule of thumb” originated from a rough measurement to determine whether you were in the radiation zone of an atomic bomb.

Not everyone had a Geiger counter to hand during the Cold War, so the protection offered instead was that if you see a mushroom cloud, extend your arm, thumb up. If your thumb covers the cloud, you’re probably – emphasis on “probably” – okay; if it doesn’t, get out fast.