People change when you change your attitude toward them. Some years ago, there’s the story told of a banker who often dropped a coin in a beggar’s cup. Unlike most people, the banker would insist on getting one of the pencils the beggar had with him. The banker would say, “You are a merchant, and I always expect to receive …
Passing Judgment Is Easy, But Truly Understanding Is Much More Difficult
Exercise caution in judgment but never in understanding. For years I taught an intensive five-day, fifty-hour course in “Interpersonal Communication.” It would start at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday and go until midnight, Wednesday through Sunday. It was a powerful course, and I would put my whole heart and soul into the course, doing everything I could to help the participants …
Speaking Someone Else's Language
You can catch a lot more fish with worms than strawberries. I like to ask the people in my audiences if they like to eat strawberries. Most of the hands go up. Yes, they do. They love them. Then I ask them if they like to go fishing. Quite a few hands go up. “Well,” I ask, “How many of …
Three Ways To Strengthen Your Relationship
Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly. One of the more prominent Presidents in U.S. history was Theodore Roosevelt. His politics made a huge difference in the world, but it was his people skills that made it all possible. Roosevelt said, “The most important single ingredient in the formula …