A “Novel” Review: How to Win Friends and Influence People

Charlie Gers

As college students, many of us spend hours each week learningwhat the Kardashians are eating for dinner, which roses Nick Viall hands out, or whatshenanigans Barney Stinson gets himself into, via subscription television programs. Addicting shows like theseon Netflix and Hulu get viewers hooked within minutes: Students can spend hours on Netflix without even realizing it; they’re completely enamored. Likewise, we spend so much timein school learning about science, math, history, and numerous other subjects. What we surprisingly do not spend any time learning about, however, is the most important subject of all: how to deal with people. How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie, has been an all-time classic book since its release date in 1936, selling over 30 million copies worldwide.

Humansspend a large portion of thetime in our lives dealing with others: whether that be clients, family members, or friends. As human beings, we are social animals who crave interaction with others. Nevertheless, the art of dealing with people is seldom studied by humans.

Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People will increase your popularity, provide you the facility to approach and befriend strangers, enable you to think differently, increase your influence in your environment, and increase your chances of success. If you lack the ability to deal with others effectively, yourchances of success are very slim.

Carnegie’s book will keep you fascinated from beginning to end. Every page is covered with techniques and tips on human interactions. For example, when engaging in a conversation with your friend, how often do you think that the more you encourage her to talk about herself, the more she will like you? That is the power of listening. Arousing in yourself a genuine interest in others by encouraging them to speak of themselves will increase the chances that the other person will feel positively towards you.

Perhaps the most prominent technique of the entire book is the importance of remembering people’s names. We often meet individuals and then forget their names minutes after leaving, as if the name did not have much importance. However, as Carnegie said, “Remember that a person’s name is, to that person, the sweetest and most important sound in any language.” By remembering people’s names and using a learned nameoften throughout aconversation, one can make aperson feel valued and important.

How to Win Friends and Influence People is a must-read for everyone; it legitimately helps a person to genuinely master the art of dealing with people. Make new friends, improve your current friendships, and develop skills that will remain in your lifetime with the wisdom you learn from this book.