How to Win Friends and Influence People It has been called "calculatedly corny and cunningly folksy," but the Dale Carnegie course on public speaking and public relations has influenced millions of graduates from all walks of life. The main word that the Carnegie course stresses is positivism -looking at what can go right rather than what can go wrong in a person's life and career. Author of the book How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie started to advise individuals and businesses on public speaking in 1912. Since that time, more than 75 countries have adopted the principles of the course. In the United States, more than 150,000 students enroll each year. Much of the Carnegie course's success has been achieved by attracting businesses that pay for their employees to take the fourteen-session course, which costs around $1,000 per student. Carnegie administrators say that 400 of the Fortune 500 companies-the most prestigious companies in the nation-send people to take the course.
The course tries to stamp out the inhibitions and insecurities that people have about themselves. It is organized around the following principles:
1. Become genuinely interested in other people.
2. Smile!
3. Remember that people want to be called by name.
4. Be a good listener.
5. Talk in terms of the other person's interest.
6. Make the other person feel important-and do it sincerely. With converts from around the globe, the Dale Carnegie approach to feeling good about yourself, about your future, and about other people has been a speech communication breakthrough. It allows people to work with real issues and come up with real answers. Millions of people can't be wrong.
State how could the six principles listed above help you to "win friends and influence people".