Over the past week, I have been thoroughly studying Dale Carnegie’s book How to Win Friends and Influence People. Now at chapter 12, Dale has introduced to us 10 main concepts:
- If you are wrong, admit it.
- Begin in a friendly way.
- Get the person saying, “yes.”
- Let the other person do the talking.
- Let the other person think that your idea is his.
- See things from the other person’s viewpoint.
- Be sympathetic.
- Appeal to the other person’s nobler motives (sometimes it is better to appeal to the appearing motive, not the actual motive, because the appearing motive sometimes is more “noble”)
- Dramatize your point.
- Throw down a challenge.
In this short essay, I will explain which of the above techniques I believe will – for myself – be the most difficult to learn and implement well.
Personally, I think that the hardest part of these techniques is merely having the presence of mind to remember which of the techniques to implement at that exact moment.
But as far as the techniques themselves go, the most difficult one for me would probably be #5 – Let the other person think that your idea is his.
Obviously, the problem for me with this one is not actually doing it, but rather bringing myself to do it. As someone who finds real pride in their good ideas (because those good ones can be few and far between), just handing it over to someone else to take credit for is like giving away one of your favorite possessions.
I guess it will depend on the situation on whether I give them credit for the idea or not, but I can see the wisdom in doing so in the correct situation, so I figure I’m on the right track.
Great content! Keep up the good work!