 The lowest point in my career was when I learned that my boss hated me. In graduate school, I was really shy and felt like everyone was smarter than me, especially my boss, the head of the cellular and molecular biology department at the University of Michigan. I was struggling with imposter syndrome and I constantly doubted myself. The only problem is that it came across exactly the opposite. In fact, my peers and my boss all thought I was aloof and arrogant. I started researching first impressions and persuasion and that's when I realized that I was doing everything wrong. My body language was closed off, my thoughts trailed off when I spoke, and I rarely made prolonged eye contact because I was so unsure of myself. Then one day I came into the lab ready to start that week's experiments when a postdoc was beaming with a big smile. You see he was in over the weekend doing the exact same experiments I plan to do. Only he had already shared the results with my boss and now I was getting called into my boss's office to explain why I even wanted to be in the PhD program. It was the lowest point of my career and I decided to drop out of school. I just didn't know how to impress and persuade my boss and that's the thing. One of the biggest problems men like us can face is starting maintaining and ending conversations in a smooth natural way that persuades people. We've all been there. You're at a bar or a networking event or even worse you're with your boss and you know what you want to talk about but I've absolutely no idea how to say it. Maybe you've even managed to get yourself an in with the person but pretty soon things have reached a lull. What do I say? Is the conversation just over now? Do they think I'm being rude? Do they want to leave but are just too polite? These are all things that were constantly going through my head and it was even worse when I was with people I looked up to and especially the women I found attractive. Having easy natural conversations that not only flow but also achieve the purpose you need them to whether be asking for a woman's number or talking to your boss about why your idea is the one to pursue isn't an easy skill but here's the good news. You don't have to spend another conversation wondering if you're being entertaining enough, charming enough, persuasive enough or even simply wondering what to say next. Do you know what that means? You don't need to spend another night kicking yourself for how you handle the situation or even worse quitting graduate school like I did. I spent the last 13 years researching and coaching people on how to make a magnetic first impression never and on a things to say and persuade people with body language and charisma and the biggest lesson I learned was it's not about what you say but instead about how you say it. It's why I started the art of charm 13 years ago to master my first impression grow my conversation and persuasion skills.