In his book How to Develop Self Confidence & Influence People by Public Speaking, Dale Carnegie recounted the time we was writing about the life story of a certain New York banker for the American Magazine.Carnegie asked one of the banker’s friends to explain the reason for his success.
No small amount of it, the friend said, was due to the man’s winning smile. At first thought, although that may sound like exaggeration, Carnegie believed it to be true. Other men, scores of them, hundreds of the, may have had more experience and as good financial judgment as the banker in question, but he had an additional asset they didn’t possess—he had a most agreeable personality, and a warm, welcoming smile was one of the striking features of it. It gained one’s confidence immediately. It secured one’s good will instantly. We all want to see a man like that succeed; and it is a real pleasure to give him our patronage.
“He who cannot smile,” says a Chinese proverb, “ought not to keep a shop.” And isn’t a smile just as welcome before an audience as behind a counter?
In Influencing Human Behavior, Professor Overstreet observes “Like begets like. If we are interested in our audience, there is a likelihood that our audience will be interested in us. If we scowl at our audience, there is every likelihood that inwardly or outwardly they will scowl at us. If we are timid and rather flustered, they likewise will lack confidence in us. If we are brazen and boastful, they will react with their own self-protective egotism. Even before we speak, very often, we are condemned or approved. There is every reason, therefore, that we should make certain that our attitude is such as to elicit warm response.”
Be conscious of your smile today and take note of how it endears people to you!
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