[Review] How to Win Friends and Influence People
Took me a little long but I finally managed to finish reading Dale Carnegie's "How to Win Friends & Influence People".
Most reviews would state it as a "must-read", or "timeless classic", but those reviews are probably overly exaggerated. Unless one has been living under a rock or alone on a island, most of the principles should come across as common sense, which unfortunately is not all that common.
That said, the book is still a recommended read in my opinion for even when we intuitively understand certain principles, it is very different from having it put into words for understanding and application. Much as the principles covered are common sense, it was hard to put them into practice in daily life as one's natural instinct is to react defensively when placed in a confrontational situation. In addition, the way one applies the principles would play a large part in how successful it is as most of the examples quoted throughout the book felt hollow to me. If someone were to approach me in the way the examples were given, I would likely find him or her pretentious.
The first two sections covers techniques in handling people to people relationships while section three covers persuasion techniques. The last section is on leadership and influencing people to do what one wants but most of the principles overlap with what is covered in the other sections.
Despite its shortcomings, I would still recommend giving the book a read even if it is just to reinforce known principles in handling people relationships. Get the physical copy from BookDepository.com or the eBook from Kobo.com
Most reviews would state it as a "must-read", or "timeless classic", but those reviews are probably overly exaggerated. Unless one has been living under a rock or alone on a island, most of the principles should come across as common sense, which unfortunately is not all that common.
That said, the book is still a recommended read in my opinion for even when we intuitively understand certain principles, it is very different from having it put into words for understanding and application. Much as the principles covered are common sense, it was hard to put them into practice in daily life as one's natural instinct is to react defensively when placed in a confrontational situation. In addition, the way one applies the principles would play a large part in how successful it is as most of the examples quoted throughout the book felt hollow to me. If someone were to approach me in the way the examples were given, I would likely find him or her pretentious.
The first two sections covers techniques in handling people to people relationships while section three covers persuasion techniques. The last section is on leadership and influencing people to do what one wants but most of the principles overlap with what is covered in the other sections.
Despite its shortcomings, I would still recommend giving the book a read even if it is just to reinforce known principles in handling people relationships. Get the physical copy from BookDepository.com or the eBook from Kobo.com
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