TOW #8: IRB How To Win Friends & Influence People

            In the second half of the book, How To Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie splits the rules into the last two parts of the book, How To Win People To Your Way of Thinking and Be a Leader: How to Change People Without Giving Offense or Arousing Resentment. In the third part, he addresses how avoiding arguments, respecting others opinions and admitting your wrongs are all essential in winning people into your way of thinking. Carnegie also emphasizes how presenting one's stance in a friendly way is crucial, because if you start in a hostile manner, the other individual or group of people will resent your ideas from the beginning. He also provides simpler ways to win others over, such as getting them to say 'yes,' letting them talk and think it was their idea, and challenging them. In part four Carnegie stresses the idea to appreciatively approach the others way of thinking, while slowly luring them into your way of thinking. Simple steps such as appreciating their point, asking questions, using encouragement, and praising their improvements are effective in getting people to change their perspective. 

            Dale Carnegie utilizes anecdotes and enumeration to successfully apply his rules to everyday life situations. Carnegie also addresses certain rules with claiming when presented with a situation ask, "How would I feel? How would I react if I were in his shoes?" (Carnegie 161). This built off his idea to think before presenting your argument and challenging the others point of view.  His simple rules and application presents them in a manner so that they are applicable to any person and/or situation, making the audience of the book broad. Throughout the book, Dale Carnegie is effective in underlining the effortless guidelines in influencing people through everyday approaches. By giving the real principles at the end of each anecdote and explanation, the reader is able to build an understanding and then connect it to the actual rule. Carnegie's essential rules to change peoples way of thinking and get them to agree with you are straightforward and appropriate for a widespread audience, and relevant to any time period, making his book completely effective.