Captivate: The Science of Succeeding with People Paperback – June 19, 2018

This is one of the best books I’ve read! Easy to follow and I also love how there are free tools that are given to understand the material better. This book definitely helps you understand where you are when connecting and how you can refine and improve your social skills! Thank you for this, this is an awesome resource!

Do you feel like self-help books don’t work for you? It’s probably because those books are trying to change who you are at your core. What I would tell you is this— return those books and get your money back because Captivate is the book for you.This book is not just for introverts or socially awkward people who want to learn better people skills. This book is for everyone! No matter if you are a stay-at-home mom or the CEO of your own company, Vanessa empowers you with the right tools to succeed with people.Captivate is the go-to people encyclopedia. It is the book you will want to keep around you to use as a reference guide. Are you fresh out of college and need to know how to engage at a networking event? Grab Vanessa’s book and learn how to hack any event or party. Do you need to negotiate a pay raise with your employer? Grab Captivate and refer to Vanessa’s knowledge on negotiation techniques.I really enjoyed reading this book. I think it has helped me in many aspects of my life. My wish is that the people who buy this book will be inspired about impacting the people in their life as I am inspired by it in mine.

This book was highly recommended by a work friend. I searched the author on YouTube and found hundreds of great videos that led me to pull the trigger on buying myself a copy. I expected to cheat the “small talk” system in anticipation of a work trip, because I absolutely dreaded meaningless “how are you?” “Fine, how are you?” Conversations. After reading this book (in 3 days because it is an easy and entertaining read) I embarked on my business trip with confidence and charisma. I didn’t have to cheat the system, I simply had to understand it! Vanessa has a way of speaking light into your spirit that encourages you to hone in on your natural strengths and get real about what you want to share—and hear—in conversations of every kind. She cracked the code and helps people master the system. I am very thankful for this collection of stories and statistics, along with Vanessa’s clever writing style. I’ll be recommending this book to everyone! 10/10

Right before starting this review, I noticed that that some of the negative reviews for this book took issue with Van Edwards tone in this book, one that include the sort of corny pop culture jokes that the "funny" person in a cubicle space like to throw around, knowing that other "funny" people will laugh, and everyone else with give a polite laugh so as not to seem rude. My attitude towards jokes in books, both fiction and nonfiction, is that I don't care so long as it doesn't interrupt the pacing. Bad jokes don't upset me unless they're mean-spirited. But I actually get their purpose in this particular book:Without the goofy jokes and whimsical examples Van Edwards would sound like a psychopath.I don't intend this as an insult, I found a lot of the advice in this book very helpful, it's just that these sort of tactics and preparations for social interactions are normally employed by pick up artists, salespeople, and the aforementioned psychopaths. There's plenty of unsavory people who have contempt for the human race but have a desire to extract value from others through interaction.The reason I could tolerate Van Edwards version of this is that she genuinely seems to have good intentions with this information, usually encouraging shy, introverted, and awkward people to find ways they can adapt to social situations without giving up a part of themselves or running themselves ragged. She continually advises the reader to approach these social situations with open eyes and an open heart, and not to do anything that would conflict with their comfort, safety or morals.I am very tall and looming, tend to look angry, and have a lot of anxiety in social situations, so there's plenty in here I intend to try out (the cheatsheets and cartoon microexpression cards are a helpful addition) so I'm willing to look past the dorkiness since the contents seem useful.

Wow, what a cover! And what a book. It captivated me. I was a bit leary about a non-PhD teaching like a PhD. I mean, any one of us could have read the Original literature Vanessa used in this book. It's the kind of stuff taught in grad school by people who have been doing peer-reviewed studies on this (often as pioneers) for decades. Most of them didn't write a book about it either. Sorry, but I don't believe the author's "lab" is anything close to the rigor and prestige done at research universities. I don't believe she studied in Papa New Guinea with native tribes working out micro-expression theory. (That was Paul Ekman, aka Cal Lightman on TV).Then it dawned on me. I don't want to read all that boring academic stuff. I want the skinny on things and I want it to be fun. I don't care that Vanessa has only seriously been studying this stuff for a few years. What I think is great is the packaging and branding of it all. The author is someone I'd rather learn from. There is enough credibility to keep my interest (hey it's psychology, the softest science, you can't ask for much). And it's broken down in a very digestible way. Plus, PhD's don't relate it to our lives. That ivory tower is just too much. When Vanessa makes terms up, at least they're fun and meaningful.So buy this book, gift to your friends, and re-read it for fun. Vanessa is pure gold. Try to get a hold of her WDS 2017 speech on Vimeeo. It's bloody brilliant. This gal deserves everything good that comes her way and more! I just wish all educators were like here. The world definitely needs more people like her.