That question came to me the other day as I thought about all the social media buzz and all the tools we have for connecting with people.
Dale Carnegie known as the expert on How to Win Friends and Influence People and the father of the self-improvement industry, would likely be an avid user of all the social media tools. He was an innovator and a risk-taker always looking for new ways to help people connect with each other and be more successful. His proven principles have stood the test of time.
Millions of people have been using these principles with great success. The world has changed a lot since Dale Carnegie developed his program in 1912. Even in this wired world it is still the human connection that is the most important.
The basic goal of social media is for people to share information about themselves and to stay connected. Whether it is through Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter, the basic premise is to appeal to people’s desire to feel important and to feel like they belong to a group. Those are both key components of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. After basic survival and security are met, it is critical for people to feel important and to belong.
These are the same basic principles that Dale Carnegie has written about and taught over the last 98 years.
There are 30 Dale Carnegie Human relations principles in his book How to win Friends and Influence People. Here are four key principles that certainly apply to use via social media.
• Give honest, sincere appreciation – Appreciation builds our image facebook friends remover faster than any other practice. The success of any relationship demands cooperation and effort form others. People contribute to your success as much as we contribute to theirs.
• Become genuinely interested in other people – The key is to be genuine. Don’t get the reputation for only being interested when you want something. Getting to know others should always be mutually beneficial
• Make the other person feel important and do it sincerely – In our dealings with others, building them up shows we appreciate their contribution. The bond that results can help us withstand the pressures of our own day-to-day struggles
• Try honestly to see things from the other person’s point of view – The other person’s point of view may be clearer than ours. Learn what you can from their point of view.
Simply put, to win more friends empathize, be genuinely interested, give sincere appreciation and make people feel important. Use these via social media tools or face to face to develop lasting relationships.
One last bit of advice from Mr. Carnegie. “You can win more friends in two months by becoming genuinely interested in others than you can in two years by trying to get others interested in you. Which is just another way of saying that the way to make a friend is to be one”
How many Facebook friends would Dale Carnegie have? Not the most – but several strong ones. They would all be based on genuine and honest relationships.