How to Win Friends and Influence People [Paperback]

This grandfather of all people-skills books was first published in 1937. It was an overnight hit, eventually selling 15 million copies. How to Win Friends and Influence People is just as useful today as it was when it was first published, because Dale Carnegie had an understanding of human nature that will never be outdated. Financial success, Carnegie believed, is due 15 percent to professional knowledge and 85 percent to "the ability to express ideas, to assume leadership and to arouse enthusiasm among people." He teaches these skills through underlying principles of dealing with people so that they feel important and appreciated. He also emphasises fundamental techniques for handling people without making them feel manipulated. Carnegie says you can make someone want to do what you want them to by seeing the situation from the other person's point of view and "arousing in the other person an eager want." You learn how to make people like you, win people over to your way of thinking, and change people without causing offence or arousing resentment. For instance: "Let the other person feel that the idea is his or hers" and "talk about your own mistakes before criticising the other person." Carnegie illustrates his points with anecdotes of historical figures, leaders of the business world and everyday folks. --Joan Price

In a conversational style, Dale Carnegie offers practical advice and techniques for how to get out of a mental rut and make life more rewarding. He advises on how to make friends quickly and easily, win people over to your way of thinking, become a better speaker and more entertaining conversationalist and arouse enthusiasm among your associates.

Dale Carnegie, known as ‘the arch-priest of the art of making friends’, pioneered the development of personal business skills, self-confidence and motivational techniques. His books, notably this classic, have sold tens of millions worldwide and continue to do so even in today’s markedly changed environment. Four more Dale Carnegie titles published by Vermilion are How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, How to Enjoy Your Life and Your Job, The Quick and Easy Way to Effective Public Speaking and How to Develop Self-Confidence and Influence People by Public Speaking.