Revealing - by Leslie John (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A groundbreaking book on the surprising potential of sharing more of ourselves with others, with profound impacts on our personal and professional relationships, from a celebrated Harvard Business School professor and leading expert on disclosure decisions.

Do you overshare, divulging way more personal information than a situation warrants? Or do you err on the side of silence, even when it means passing up an opportunity for making an authentic connection? We're constantly deciding how much to disclose about ourselves and what we're thinking and feeling. The decision of how forthcoming to be can be difficult, even excruciating.

For over fifteen years, behavioral scientist and Harvard Business School professor Leslie John has been studying the choices we make every day--at work and at home, with our spouses, friends, colleagues, and even strangers--about how much to reveal about ourselves. A growing body of research shows we vastly underestimate the value of oversharing. Often, when an epic overshare leaves us cringing with shame, the person we've shared with is actually happy to have been confided in. Yet so many of us have come to see what would be beneficial disclosure as TMI.

Getting disclosure decisions right has a powerful effect on your daily happiness, your relationships, your career, and your health. Sharing more freely can improve your mental and physical wellbeing. Likewise, undersharing can deprive you of opportunities to build friendships, gain the trust and support of colleagues and employees, and maybe, even, to find a life partner.

Revealing equips readers with the awareness to make even the thorniest of disclosure decisions with aplomb. John offers the latest scientific insights about how to hone your self- and situational awareness so that in any given moment, you can make a good decision about just how much you want to share and why.

About the Author

Leslie John is the James E. Burke Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School and a behavioral scientist fascinated by how we make decisions. Her award-winning research appears in top academic journals and media including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Economist. A Canadian-born, internationally trained ballet dancer, she now calls Boston home, where she lives with her husband and two young sons.