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How To: Convince Others to Follow You Using Your Face

Are you a follower or a leader? No matter how you respond, we all know that leader is a more desirable position to hold. Great leaders typically share a few qualities—confidence, intelligence, and strength, to name a few—but one of the most intriguing is their appearance. With the right facial structure, and some well-rehearsed expressions, you can trick others into thinking you're leader material.

How To: Achieve Your Goals by Changing Your Password

Finding the motivation to make a change can be tricky. It's difficult to resist the urge to procrastinate, or even give up when goals seem distant and difficult. If you wish you could stick to your New Year's resolutions, or maybe even just commit to pursuing smaller goals, you might want to consider making a small change to start: just create a new password.

How To: Ignore the Future to Make Smarter Decisions

The future: that time that lies ahead, unknown and overwhelming. Whether you're an obsessive planner or someone who can't think more than two days ahead, considering the future can be frightening with all of the "what ifs." Don't let the future keep you awake at night—in fact, the less you think about what life holds in store for you, the better off you'll be.

How To: Calm Your Fear of Public Speaking for Better Presentations

Sweaty palms, stuttered speech, and terror blackouts: if you're someone who absolutely despises speaking before audiences, you've probably experienced side effects like these. No matter how well prepared we are, or how familiar our audience is, giving a presentation can be an experience more terrifying than death, according to psychologists. Unfortunately, it's impossible to avoid public speeches, but you can make these events less frightening with a few simple hacks.

How To: Become a Better Worker by Taking More Breaks

I'll admit it: I've spent many eight-hour workdays stuck at my desk, staring at my computer as my breaks slip past unnoticed. I frequently tell myself I'll take one in a few more minutes—but somehow, the entire day will pass and I won't have taken a single break.

How To: Prevent the Harmful Effects of Working in a Windowless Cubicle

Sitting in a cubicle and never seeing sunlight during the workday is unpleasant to even think about—and sitting in a flourescent-light cube can have terrible effects on both our work performance and overall attitude. Yet there are ways to counteract the effects of cubicle sitting, even if you can't sit in a sunny office or work from home.

Feet Don't Lie: Look Down to Tell What Others Are Really Thinking

The importance of body language is stressed from an early age: watch those around you, and you'll know what they're thinking. While you might be skilled at deciphering the messages of crossed arms, slouched sitting, eye movements, and hand gestures, the key to understanding those around you is a little less obvious.

How To: Reading Fantasy Books Could Make You a Better Person

From parents and other family members to friends and peers, personalities are built by environment. Though people are important in the development of our own individual personality, there are other, different influences, including what you choose to read. The books you take the time to enjoy can make you nicer and more understanding, or leave you overall unchanged.

How To: Quiet an Overthinking Mind

We all carry a bit of anxiety around with us. Is our boss still annoyed because we could barely stay awake in yesterday's pre-dawn meeting? Will our friend hate us forever because we forgot to call them back two weeks ago? Whatever worries pop up in your mind, whether they're monumental or insignificant, it can be hard to quiet those nagging voices, but you can shut down your nonstop mind with a bit of relaxation, distraction, and action.

How To: The Best Times to Make Important Decisions

Decisions are rarely easy to make, and there are countless ways to mull your options over. You can sleep on it, pluck flower petals, make a list of pros and cons, or even follow the advice of a psychic. Yet to make the best decision possible, you might want to consider holding off until a certain time of the day—or even until you feel specific emotions. The state you find yourself in has significant impact on each decision you make.

How To: Hone Your BS Detector

Can you tell when your friends are serving up a bunch of BS, or are you constantly oblivious, unsure if they're spinning a valid story? With so many ways to lie and fake information floating around, it can be impossible to tell what's the truth from what's complete BS. Here's how to sort through what you hear and find the real truth.

How To: 5 Ways You're Making Yourself Dumber

No one wants to appear stupid. Whether you rely on lengthy, complicated vocabulary to show your smarts, or enjoy highlighting your speedy mental math skills, everyone prefers emphasizing intelligence over hiding it.

How To: Speed Read Your Way Through Anything with the Right Font

Hate slogging through pages and pages of weighty books and lengthy work documents? You may not be able to depend on speed-reading apps, but with the right font, you can increase the number of words you scan each second, speeding up your reading pace exponentially.

How To: Break Bad News More Comfortably

Being the bearer of bad news is unpleasant; there's nothing more uncomfortable than offering up a spoonful of negativity. Whether you're a supervisor who spends a lot of time interviewing and rejecting candidates, or simply someone who has to say "no" to a friend, it's never fun to break bad news. But sharing unpleasant words or feedback with another person can become less of a burden with a few simple steps.

How To: 5 Reasons You Should Stop Sleeping In

Are you someone who always struggles to wake up in the morning, no matter how much you've slept? For most, the thought of getting out of bed any earlier sounds horrific. Yet dragging yourself out of bed and towards the coffee maker a few hours earlier each day can have benefits you've never realized. Here are six reasons that make a compelling case for ending our bad habit of sleeping a little too long.

How To: Why You Learn More Watching Comedy Over Mainstream News

While CNN, FOX News, and MSNBC are valuable sources of information for what's going on in the world today, they may not be the best news stations to watch if you actually want to learn something. They, along with local news stations, are great at grabbing your attention, but if you truly want to learn something about recent events, you're tuning into the wrong channel.

How To: Fake Smiles Are Bad for You & Here’s Why

Can you tell when someone is shooting you a fake smile? Even though fake smiles are easy enough to see through, we all still do it, attempting to show others just how happy we are when we're really feeling less than fantastic. Unfortunately, every smile we fake makes us a tiny bit more miserable.

How To: 5 Ways Learning a New Language Benefits Your Brain

Though many students spend four years of high school learning a foreign language, most of us probably retained very little. Chalk it up to the carelessness of youth, but chances are you've since been in situations or places that left you wishing you paid more attention in class or had continued practicing long after you graduated.

How To: Avoid Injury While Exercising

When exercising at a high intensity, you know to expect some level of pain. That can make it difficult to identify when your body gives you a warning sign of injury. If you pay close attention, however, you can tell the good hurt from the bad. I talked to Dr. Brian Parr again, professor at the Dept. of Exercise and Sports Science at the University of South Carolina Aiken, who explained which symptoms of exercise are normal and which are bad:

How To: 4 Reasons Why Talking to Yourself Is Anything but Crazy

Admit it: you've been caught muttering to yourself under your breath in very public places. Maybe you've gotten stares while wandering the grocery store talking to yourself out loud. If you're like me, you might even talk yourself through various tasks, giving the atmosphere a little background noise.

How To: Why You Shouldn't Stretch to Warm Up for Exercise or Sports

If you're like most people, you've stretched before a workout or playing sports. Doing so should help you get your muscles ready to work. While stretching is good for your muscles, you're wasting your time if it's the first thing you do. I talked to Dr. Brian Parr, professor at the Dept. of Exercise and Sports Science at the University of South Carolina Aiken, who explained this misconception and what you can do about it:

Expert Advice: Four Ways Nutritionists Maintain a Healthy Diet

Eating healthy poses a challenge nowadays with so many options that taste great but aren't really good for you. Nutritionists have made it their life's work to understand what actually does a body good. Here's how you can follow their example.

Expert Advice: Four Ways Doctors Keep Themselves Healthy

Staying healthy is a progressive challenge we all face throughout our lives, and figuring out just how to do that can be a challenge when it's not your job. For doctors, however, it is. Here's how they keep themselves healthy day to day.

How To: 8 Reasons Why Getting Off Your Ass at Work Is So Important

If you've read any health news in the past year or so, you've probably been bombarded with headlines announcing that frequent sitters face certain death, even when you're just relaxing and watching TV at home.

How to Beat a Telemarketer: 8 Surefire Ways to Keep Them from Calling You Back

Telemarketers can be as terrifying as a villain from a horror film. Your phone rings with an unknown 800 number, and you immediately fill with a sense of dread. There's no way to get them to stop calling; you imagine the number appearing on your phone at all hours of the day and night, haunting you.

Silence Is Golden: Why Keeping Quiet at Work Is Actually a Good Thing

Unless you're someone who's terrified of social situations, chances are you love to talk. But no matter how much you want to share you life story or take over the conversation, you shouldn't. Your socially awkward coworkers that keep their mouth shut might actually have a leg up on you at work, and here's why.

Sleep Hacks: 10 Ways to Take Back Control Over Your Sleeping Habits

Climbing into bed and shutting your eyes each night is heavenly—but waking up the next morning isn't. We all hate dragging ourselves out of the comfort of sleep and into the groggy, exhausting work day. Yet starting your day doesn't have to be awful if you know how to hack your sleep cycles and get the most out of your shut-eye.

How To: 8 Reasons Why You Should Be Playing Even More Video Games

Although your friends might roll their eyes every time you talk about playing Clash of Clans, Call of Duty, or Candy Crush Saga, your excessive gaming habits might actually be making you healthier than everyone else.

How To: Cheering Sad Friends Up Might Not Be the Best Way to Help

Contrary to popular belief, taking someone's mind off their sadness and telling them to "cheer up" doesn't do much good. Misery loves company, and while it may be a tiresome cliché, there's actually some science behind it.

How To: Disarm a Manipulative Sociopath

There are a lot of manipulative people out there, but you don't have to let all of them push you around. It's time for the tables to turn.

How To: 5 Things Cold Baths & Showers Can Do for You That Hot Ones Can’t

If you're anything like me, your day doesn't start until you've sloughed away your grogginess with a scalding hot shower. That perfectly-heated water can clear stuffed sinuses, relax the muscles, and make pretty much anyone feel squeaky clean. However, a cold shower can do even more for you if you can stand the low temperatures.

Shop Smarter: Use Influential Music to Control What & How Much You Purchase

For some, there's nothing more thrilling than carrying an armful of bags while wandering the mall; for others, there's nothing more annoying. No matter what category of shopper you fit into, the truth is that you aren't always in control of what you buy.

How To: Make Your Lies Undetectable in Email & Text Messages

Developing an imperceptible lie is difficult, especially when you're lying right to someone's face. Thanks to smartphones, getting people to trust you is now easier than ever. You can craft a lie in seconds and hit send, all without ever seeing their untrusting faces.

How To: Start Writing Things Down to Increase Your Learning Capability & Confidence

Journals are a great source of hilarity and embarrassment, detailing everything from your elementary school crushes to those super awkward middle school dances. While rereading your old hand-scrawled entries might make you cringe, that old journaling habit could benefit you as an adult.

How To: Spot an Undercover Narcissist

Humans in general are great at keeping things about themselves private, from feelings to personality traits. While smartphones and social networks are making these secrets more open, narcissists have and always will love being out in the open with everyone's attention on them.

How To: Trick Your Brain into Remembering What You Read

If you have a hard time remembering what you've just read on your iPad or Kindle, try changing the font next time. The typeface you use to read books, newspapers, and online articles is either hurting or helping your memory, and you'll be surprised which ones are killing your brain cells.

Study: You'll Remember More by Photographing Less

Thanks to the steady increase in quality of smartphone cameras, it's easier than ever to take amazing photos or video without thinking twice. If you've been to a concert in the last five years, you undoubtedly know what I mean. But it turns out that using your camera as a new set of eyes might actually be ruining your ability to remember events on your own, rather than helping you to hold on to the good times.

How To: Break Your Bad Habits Without Getting All Stressed Out

Old habits die hard. It may be a cliché, but it's undeniably true, especially when it comes to the bad ones. Nail-biting, fidgeting, and overspending can label you as someone who is obsessive-compulsive, overly nervous, and routinely stressed out, but you can make the break less painful with a few simple tweaks to your routine and by understanding how your habits work.

How To: Turn Your Movie Night into a Calorie-Burning "Workout" by Choosing Scarier Films

Merely fidgeting and shivering can burn calories, but now you can add trembling in fear to the list too. Just pop in a good horror movie and turn down the lights to burn off up to 200 calories. What would you rather do? Walk for over 30 minutes or watch a 90-minute scarefest?

How To: 10 Ways to Manipulate Irrational People & Get Your Way

It may seem impossible to win an argument against an irrational person, but it turns out the tried-and-true techniques that hostage negotiators use against hostage-takers work surprisingly well in everyday situations. You may not ever deal with a real hostage situation personally, but life is full of negotiations with unreasonable people, and those conversations don't always have to end in rage or disappointment. The mental techniques that professional hostage negotiators use can help both pa...