Episode 096: Maria Konnikova – Con Artists: Why We Fall For It Every Time

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Maria Konnikova is one of the most intelligent people I’ve spoken to on The Learning Leader Show… In addition to that, she expresses her thoughts in both an entertaining and educational way.  If time would have permitted, I would have spoken to Maria for hours.  The topic of “con-men” is something Maria has studied for years.  Her newest book, “The Confidence Game” is a fascinating look into the lives of people who con others for a living.  Maria interviewed many of them first hand.  We discussed this in detail on this episode. This fascinates me.  I loved learning more about this from Maria.

Maria Konnikova is a contributing writer for The New Yorker, where she writes a regular column with a focus on psychology and culture, and is currently working on an assortment of non-fiction and fiction projects. Her first book, Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes was a New York Times bestseller and has been translated into eighteen languages. It was nominated for the Agatha Award and the Anthony Award for Best Non-fiction and was a Goodreads People’s Choice Semifinalist for 2013. Her second book, The Confidence Game was released January 12, 2016. Her writing has appeared online and in print in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The New York Times, Slate, California Sunday, Pacific Standard, The New Republic, The Paris Review, The Wall Street Journal, Salon, The Boston Globe, among numerous other publications. Maria is a recipient of the 2015 Harvard Medical School Media Fellowship, and is a Schachter Writing Fellow at Columbia University’s Motivation Science Center.  She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University, where she studied psychology, creative writing, and government, and received her Ph.D. in Psychology from Columbia University. She previously worked as a producer for the Charlie Rose show on PBS.

Episode 096: Maria Konnikova – Con Artists: Why We Fall For It Every Time

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The Learning Leader Show

“Men on first dates are beautiful targets for con-artists.”

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• All con artists are Narcissistic, Entitled, and Machiavellian
• Victims of con artists are not what you think
• The process for studying and writing a phenomenal book about this topic
• Why and How Lance Armstrong is still conning us
• The red flags to look out for
• Why guys on first dates are beautiful targets for con artists
• Her firsthand experience with a con artist while on a date
• The Grandparent scam and how to prepare for it
• What could we use for good from this knowledge?
• Persuasion, building emotional rapport, being a great listener – Cons are great at this
• The “Foot In The Door” Technique and why it works
• Has Maria ever been conned? Her answer is interesting and will make you think about yourself and if you’ve been conned (You probably have)

 “If it seems too good to be true, it is.”

Continue Learning:

• Go To Maria’s website: MariaKonnikova.com  
• Read: The Confidence Game
• Read: Mastermind - How To Think Like Sherlock Holmes
• Follow Maria on Twitter: @mkonnikova

You may also like these episodes:

Episode 001: How To Become A Master Connector With Jayson Gaignard From MasterMind Talks

Episode 085: Jessica Lahey – Why Your Parenting Style Is Wrong

Episode 004: How Todd Wagner (and Mark Cuban) Sold Broadcast.com To Yahoo! For $5.7 Billion

Episode 010: Shane Snow – How To Accelerate Success Using Smart Cuts

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This was a jam packed episode full of great content.  Clayton Morris is leader who is constantly learning in order to help us all live a better life. Who do you know that needs to hear this?  Send them to The Learning Leader Show!

Episode edited by the great J Scott Donnell

Bio From MariaKonnikova.com  

Maria is a contributing writer for The New Yorker, where she writes a regular column with a focus on psychology and culture, and is currently working on an assortment of non-fiction and fiction projects. Her first book, Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes (Viking/Penguin, 2013), was a New York Times bestseller and has been translated into eighteen languages. It was nominated for the Agatha Award and the Anthony Award for Best Non-fiction and was a Goodreads People’s Choice Semifinalist for 2013. Her second book, The Confidence Game, is scheduled for publication by Viking/Penguin on January 12, 2016. Her writing has appeared online and in print in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The New York Times, Slate, California Sunday, Pacific Standard, The New Republic, The Paris Review, The Wall Street Journal, Salon, The Boston Globe, The Observer, Scientific American MIND, WIRED, and Scientific American, among numerous other publications. Maria is a recipient of the 2015 Harvard Medical School Media Fellowship, and is a Schachter Writing Fellow at Columbia University’s Motivation Science Center.  She formerly wrote the “Literally Psyched” column for Scientific American and the popular psychology blog “Artful Choice” for Big Think. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University, where she studied psychology, creative writing, and government, and received her Ph.D. in Psychology from Columbia University. She previously worked as a producer for the Charlie Rose show on PBS. She still, on occasion, writes in Russian.