How To Win Friends and Influence people is one of the books I was glad to have read in the year 2024. The book, whose author is Dale Carnegie, provided me with clear insights on proven strategies on how to attract friends.
Prior to the time I read the book, I usually had difficulty in this area. But after reading this book and implementing this strategies provided by the author, I began to notice improvement in my social life. I began to draw people close to me and also able to influence them to some extent with ease.
There are many nuggets I was able to learn from this book but I'll just share two with you for now. One of the things I learned was that there are two highest levels of influence. It also means that there are two major reasons why people will follow you.
The first reason why people will follow you is because of who you are. Another way to put this is based on the kind of reputation people have towards you. When you possess a good reputation people will feel comfortable following you. This enables them to have trust in you. Trustworthiness is one of the major factors why people follow a person.
They may not necessarily know who that person is personally, but based on what they have heard concerning that person which has been proven to be true, they now have reasons why they can follow the person. People easily agree or respond to things that they trust.
The reason why someone would agree to use an iPhone for the first time is because of the inventor behind it who is well known and also because of the good remarks from other users of that product.
The second reason why people will follow you is because of what you've done for them. In my opinion, this method is way faster and easier. When you do something for someone, it has a way of making a lasting impression in their lives. This is called Generosity. Showing acts of generosity can help you gain influence over people to a great extent.
That's why the saying goes, "Give and take" and not "Take and give." This simply means that before you get, you need to first of all give. This method is effective the most if you are running a sort of business whereby you rendering some products or services to people. Do not be so anxious about receiving profits.
Your first and foremost goal should be to give value to your customers. When you give them value, you give them a reason to buy from you. When next they are in need of similar product or service, you need not persuade them to come and buy from you. Gradually, you're gaining influence over them.