FROM the mythical to-do list that never gets done to the self-deluding David Brent type to whom office colleagues are devoted disciples, the work-place is littered with illusions.

If you are angling for a pay rise, creating an illusion of confidence can turn things in your favour. Persuasion is as much about how you say something as what you say, reports New Scientist (May 10). Talking very fast is a good way to pull the wool over someone’s eyes, while hesitant phrases such as “I mean” and “you know” reduce your persuasive power.

Mimicking your boss’s head and hand movements can subconsciously trick him or her into agreement – but be subtle. “If you think there’s even the slightest chance that you’ve been rumbled, stop,” New Scientist advises.

However confident you may sound, self-conscious body signals often give the game away. Why not call in the body language experts from the West End, says Human Resources (May). Companies such as BT and KPMG use dancers from musicals to help people to better express themselves at work. Singers belt out lines while employees practise their moves.

“If people feel entertained they’re more likely to remember,” says Richard Newman, a body language expert.

Most of us are familiar with the art of procrastination, but could you be suffering from Someday Syndrome? Management Today (May) asks. This afflicts those who labour under a constant illusion about their future. They definitely plan to start a business or write a book – one day. Most sufferers get as far as making lists, it says.

If you’re under any illusion as to what employees really think of your company, new WaterCooler software from Hewlett Packard could bring you down to earth. It indexes what employees say on internal and external blogs to allow managers to listen in on gripefests – sorry, keep up to speed with constructive online brainstorm sessions, BusinessWeek (May 19) reports.

Is there anything we won’t try in the name of work? The illusionist David Blaine had a nasty taste of reality when living in a clear box above the Thames for 44 days without food, Time (May 19) reports. For the first 28 days even water tasted sweet, until his body shifted to digesting its organ walls. This is when “it begins to taste like sulphur and becomes horrific”, he says.

WHAT ELSE HAPPENED

The best way to get ahead at work is to spend less time there, says the Chartered Management Institute. Or, more accurately, to spend more time studying. Approximately a quarter of managers surveyed had been promoted as a result of improving their qualifications; 23 per cent received a salary increase and 22 per cent found a new job.

MBA students at Harvard are optimistic about their future: they expect to be earning $278,364 (£142,934) five years after they’ve graduated, BusinessWeek (May 19) reports. But their glasses aren’t as rosy as those worn by people in last year’s class, who anticipated picking up pay packets containing $279,275.

The UK’s top firms aren’t showing many signs of breaking with tradition when hiring chief executives, with FTSE 100 companies much more likely than their US counterparts to pick men (it’s nearly always men) with a finance background, reports management-issues.com .

Would-be whistleblowers in Britain can face an uphill battle because only 40 per cent of businesses have measures in place to support them, says a report from Grant Thornton, an accountancy firm. Maybe onions are the answer. The Onion Router is a network that allows employees to post sensitive documents on sites such as wikileaks.org without disclosing their internet address, New Scientist (May 10) reports.

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