How to Win Friends and Influence People
by Dale Carnegie
Carnegie's 1936 book remains the most practical guide to being liked and persuasive, because its advice is simple and most people still do not follow it: be genuinely interested, remember names, let others talk, admit mistakes quickly, make the other person feel important. The examples are old; the human nature is not.
Read it if…
you have never read it or read it long ago; nearly every later book on influence is a footnote.
Skip it if…
you want modern research; this is observation and anecdote, and some stories are embellished.
Three things you will actually use
- Talk in terms of the other person's interests.
- Give honest, specific appreciation.
- Let the other person save face, always.
Do this first
In your next three conversations, ask questions and say nothing about yourself unless asked.
Our verdict
The classic; still the best place to start on people skills.
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