Social Interactions

After further practice using the ten principles of How to Win Friends and Influence People, I’ve learned that people truly to respond to a friendly face and genuine interest. I used the principles this week, the majority of them on Thursday during my time donating blood for the Red Cross. Over a two hour time period, I managed to be acquainted with various people. Most of the people I spoke with were donors, like me. The first guy, named James, was seated on the bed to my left; I introduced myself and after brief introductions, he went on to tell me about his numerous donation stories. Next, Steve, another donor, told me all about his family and his younger brother’s college plans. After more conversation, I learned that Steve and I had a mutual friend. I also talked with a guy on a bed across from me about a previous class we had together and how the rest of his classes were going. Dinisha, my nurse, was who I spoke with about her cell phone. She was texting on her iphone, which is the same phone I use, so I asked her how she liked her phone and the positive and negative attributes it has.
Over the weekend, I used the principles of a few other people, some of which were at work, and some were other retail employees. I used the principles further on my coworkers to try to get to know them better. For example, I learned that one of the coworker’s family owns a pub in Owings Mills. He told me all about the restaurant, including the menu options and stories about some of the regulars. I tried to use the principles for almost every interaction I could. I came to notice that people really do respond positively to friendliness and to someone who takes a sincere interest in them. Taking a few minutes to listen to someone does make them feel good and can strongly enhance networking ties.