“The rare individual who honestly satisfies this heart hunger will hold people in the palm of his or her hand, and even the undertaker will be sorry when he dies”
-Dale Carnegie: How to Win Friends and Influence People
For many years I was a training facilitator for The Dale Carnegie Course. The above quote was one of my favorites. It encapsulates what I believe is the most important thing to know when building relationships and leading others: Making the other person feel important.
Once I worked with a fellow named Don. He had a way of making people feel special. He would greet people with a warm, sincere smile, and immediately begin to ask questions that enabled them to talk about themselves. Remember, that is everyone’s favorite subject!
Don was an avid fisherman, and one time he went on a trip way up north in the Canadian wilderness. In his experience, he interacted with the guides and staff at the lodge. As usual, he showed his genuine interest, and was able to find out things about people that were very informative and entertaining. The conversations Don had with them was one of the highlights of his trip. When Don checked out, the host said, “I keep hearing from my staff members about you. They want to know when you will be coming back. They have never done that before!”
What Don did was what many of us don’t feel we have time to do: Find out what makes others feel important and listen to their story. If we do, we will brighten people’s day and make them feel important. We may never know what a difference that will make.
