Agreed that is a classic - I think the essentials are true but the language is a bit dated.
Definitely "trying to think positively about people and their actions/understand them", and giving people "a sense of importance" are very helpful social skills.
I definitely second that its a great book, especially if you focus more on the principles it's getting at instead of necessarily the examples.
Funny experience with that:
A big part of How to Win Friends and Influence People that I took to heart was "be interested in other people". Flash forward a few years and I'm in a bar with a group of people I had recently met when one of them says to me "Hey, we've been talking a lot about ourselves but not really that much about you." One of the other people interrupted "That's because they are polite! They are showing interest in what we're interested in instead of insisting on talking about themselves."
So at least some people do notice when you put in an effort to use good social skills!
Agreed that is a classic - I think the essentials are true but the language is a bit dated. Definitely "trying to think positively about people and their actions/understand them", and giving people "a sense of importance" are very helpful social skills.
I definitely second that its a great book, especially if you focus more on the principles it's getting at instead of necessarily the examples.
Funny experience with that:
A big part of How to Win Friends and Influence People that I took to heart was "be interested in other people". Flash forward a few years and I'm in a bar with a group of people I had recently met when one of them says to me "Hey, we've been talking a lot about ourselves but not really that much about you." One of the other people interrupted "That's because they are polite! They are showing interest in what we're interested in instead of insisting on talking about themselves."
So at least some people do notice when you put in an effort to use good social skills!