Surrounded by idiots

The Four Types of Human Behaviour (or, How to Understand Those Who Cannot Be Understood).

Do you ever think you're the only one making any sense? Or tried to reason with your partner with disastrous results? Do long, rambling answers drive you crazy? Or does your colleague's abrasive manner get your back up?

You are not alone. After a disastrous meeting with a highly successful entrepreneur, who was genuinely convinced he was 'surrounded by idiots', communication expert and bestselling author, Thomas Erikson dedicated himself to understanding how people function and why we often struggle to connect with certain types of people.

Originally published in Swedish in 2014 as Omgiven Av Idioter, Erikson's Surrounded by Idiots is already an international phenomenon, selling over 1.5 million copies worldwide, of which over 750,000 copies have been sold in Sweden alone. It offers a simple, yet ground-breaking method for assessing the personalities of people we communicate with - in and out of the office - based on four personality types (Red, Blue, Green and Yellow), and provides insights into how we can adjust the way(s) we speak and share information.

Erikson will help you understand yourself better, hone communication and social skills, handle conflict with confidence, improve dynamics with your boss and team, and get the best out of the people you deal with and manage. He also shares simple tricks on body language, improving written communication and advice on when to back away or when to push on, and when to speak up or indeed shut up. Packed with 'aha!' and 'oh no!' moments, Surrounded by Idiots will help you understand and influence those around you, even people you currently think are beyond all comprehension.

And with a bit of luck you can also be confident that the idiot out there isn't you!

The runaway international bestseller.

You can also find the book in Bulgarian - Заобиколени от идиоти.

Томас Ериксон е водещ специалист и консултант по комуникация. Той съветва различни организации и обучава мениджъри на големи компании. Автор е и на няколко книги за общуването, като първата от тях - Заобиколени от идиоти, се превръща в абсолютна сензация не само в родната му Швеция и останалите скандинавски страни, но и в редица други държави. Сред тях е и България. До момента в световен мащаб от нея са продадени над 1 милион и половина екземпляра, а правата са купени в 39 страни. Голям е интересът и към Заобиколени от енергийни вампири и Заобиколени от лъжци, която излиза със знака на Хермес на 10 юни.

Foreword by David Bonnstetter
Introduction: The Man Who Was Surrounded by Idiots
Communication Happens on the Listener’s Terms
Why Are We the Way We Are?
An Introduction to the System
Red Behavior: How to Recognize a Real Alpha and Avoid Getting in His Way
Yellow Behavior: How to Recognize Someone Whose Head Is in the Clouds and Get Him Back to Reality Again
Green Behavior: Why Change Is So Difficult and How to Get Around It
Blue Behavior: In Pursuit of Perfection
No One Is Completely Perfect: Strengths and Weaknesses
Learning New Things: How to Use What You’ve Learned
Body Language: Why How You Move Matters: How Do You Really Look?
A Real-Life Example: The Company Party - How to Understand Everyone You Meet
Adaptation: How to Handle Idiots (i.e., Everyone Who Isn’t like You)
How to Deliver Really Bad News: The Challenge of Speaking Your Mind
Who Gets Along and Why It Works: Group Dynamics at Their Finest
Written Communication: How to Evaluate Someone When You Can’t Meet in Person
What Makes Us as Mad as Hell?: Temperament Can Reveal Everything About a Person
Stress Factors and Energy Thieves: What Is Stress?
A Short Reflection Through History: People Have Always Been like This
Voices from Real Life
A Quick Little Quiz to See What You’ve Learned
A Final Example from Everyday Life: Perhaps the Most Enlightening Team Project in the History of the World
The Answers to the Questions in Chapter 20
Further Reading
Index