I have to compress the learning since time has been very much limited these days. Nevertheless, I did finish reading the whole of Chapter 1 twice, and underlining the important notes. It's a matter of applying those lessons. In summary, the 6 ways to make people like you are:
- Become genuinely interested in other people.
- Smile.
- Remember that a person's name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.
- Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.
- Talk in terms of the other person's interest.
- Make the other person feel important - and do it sincerely.
Come to think about it, all are indeed common sense. But knowingly as we are creatures being slaved by our own ego, the above can be quite challenging.
I chaired a department meeting this morning and asked who had read Stephen Covey's 7 Habits, none had ever heard. Reading huh, only 2% of Malaysians do it. What do you expect....how can we become "Negara Berpendapatan Tinggi" when our people are not interested to read and explore. Najib should spend more time in remote areas of Terengganu, Kelantan and Masai, then only he knows what should be the priority.
Come back to the DC's book, here are some of the important notes:
Be a good listener:
- When we listen to people, it implies that the person is important. That's exactly what human beings are craving - the sense of being important.
- Many people fail to make a favorable impression because they don't listen attentively.
- People who talk only of themselves think only of themselves.
- To be interesting, be interested.
Talk in terms of the other person's interest:
- Focus on what can catch the other person's enthusiasm.
- Talk about an enlargement of his life.
Make the other person feel important - and do it sincerely.
- The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated.
- Human beings crave for appreciation as much as they crave for food.
I have to learn to say more "Thank You", and show that "You mean a lot to me". Everybody around us is as important as our family member, even if they are just the cleaners in the office, the security guard at the gate, the cashier at the counter, the officer at the bank, the attendant at the petrol kiosk, and all those people....I just have to learn to be more friendly.