How to Win Friends and Influence People?
You can't win an Argument:
I have
been involved in and observed thousands of arguments and came to the conclusion
that to get the best of an argument, avoid it altogether. Nine times out of 10,
an argument ends with each person being more convinced that they're absolutely
right. Even if you win an argument, you lose. Why? Well, because you've made
the other person feel inferior and hurt their sense of pride. Ask yourself, is
it really worth your time and energy trying to win an argument when it will
give you nothing but a temporary sense of victory in exchange for making the
other person feel like crap?
Never tell a man he is Wrong:
Wayne is a
woodchopper. Carl is a builder. Wayne specializes in oak wood and Carl in pine
wood. One day, Carl ordered some oak wood from Wayne. Upon inspecting the oak
wood, Carl was frustrated with its poor quality and wasn't willing to pay for
it. But Wayne noticed his quality inspection was too strict and was
misinterpreting how to assess the quality of oak wood. He knew Carl was wrong. Now
most people would be tempted to say, Carl, mate, you're bloody wrong. But not
Wayne. Instead, he began asking questions as to why the oak wood was not of
high quality. He emphasized that he was only asking so that he could give. Carl
exactly what he wanted for future orders. He approached the situation in a
friendly and cooperative manner. Eventually, Carl's attitude changed. He soon
admitted he was not experienced with oak wood and began asking Wayne questions.
He finally understood that it was his fault for making poor judgements about
the quality of the wood. Carl ended up happily paying for the wood. Now that's
the power of never telling someone they're wrong. Feel free to try this out in
your own life. I'm confident you will notice that people respond much more
positively to you when you don't tell them they're wrong.
Ask Questions instead of giving Orders:
It makes
people want to cooperate with you. If you want your roommate to help you do the
dishes, you will likely get a more positive response if you say: hey Clarence,
could you please give me a hand with the dishes? Instead of: hey Clarence, do
the dishes with me now. Framing your request as a question rather than a demand
makes Clarence feel like he has a choice and therefore will be more responsive
to your requests.
Remember Names:
Andrew
Carnegie, one of the richest men in history understood the importance of names.
As a child, he had a nest of pet rabbits but no food to feed them. He told the
boys in the neighborhood that if they would go out and get enough dandelions to
feed the rabbits, he would name the bunnies in their honor. The plan worked. He
used the same principle in business. A man named Pullman and himself were
fighting against each other trying to get the sleeping car business to work. During
a meeting one evening, Andrew suggested that they merge companies and work
together. Pullman listened intently and then asked, what would you call the new
company? Andrew responded: why, the Pullman Palace Car Company, of course. Pullman's
face brightened and he said: come into my room, let's talk it over. When I
first met Amy, she told me her name but I didn't hear her properly. I asked her
to say it again. And even a third time during class. The longer you leave it,
the more awkward it becomes. You might feel embarrassed about asking more than
once but realize that people appreciate it when you take the time to learn
their name. I remember randomly talking to a man in my class named Tom. Next
week I came in and I said: hey Tom, how are you doing? And he said: wow, I'm
surprised you remembered my name.
Talk in terms of Others' Interests:
If there
was just one lesson you could take away from this book this would be it. I
really struggle to talk to new people. It doesn't matter if we have nothing in
common because I talk about their interest. In one of my first conversations
with Amy, I asked her a simple question: what do you like to do in your spare time? She
said: I listen to music, randomly sing and dance, draw, do artsy stuff, try to
keep fit, watch movies and funny TV shows, I read, I cook, I play with my pets and
spend time with my family and friends. I followed her up with another simple
question. Okay, so what do you read and what do you draw? Amy got excited. After
a long outburst of sharing her interests, she said: I'm getting way too excited
talking about this. No one ever gets to know me this way so I have this all
bottled up. It's so awesome talking about my passions so thanks for listening
to me. We get along so well now and have been great friends since. It doesn't
matter whether you're talking to your boss, work mates, teachers, friends,
family, or strangers. Talk in terms of other people's interests and they'll
love you for it.
Okay, now let's summarize what we've learned today. You can win an argument. Never tell a man he is wrong. Ask questions instead of giving orders. Remember names. And most importantly, talk in terms of other's interests.
Thank you
No comments: