It is one of the all-time best-selling books on effective communication, getting along with people, and persuading others in our way of thinking through being genuinely interested in them.
This book is equivalent to a course on this subject and, if read and applied persistently, can do wonders for the reader.
Here are 41 How to Win Friends and Influence People quotes and lines that will help you consider and adopt a better way of communication.
1. “The ability to deal with people is as purchasable a commodity as sugar or coffee. And I will pay more for that ability than any other under the sun” – John D. Rockefeller
2. “We learn by doing. So, If you desire to master any principles, do something about them. Only knowledge that is used sticks in your mind.”
3. “It is frequently easier to find fault than praise. It is more natural to talk about what you want than the other person wants.”
4. “Criticism is futile because it puts a person on the defensive and usually makes him strive to justify himself.”
5. “Criticism is dangerous because it wounds a person’s precious pride, hurts his sense of importance, and arouses resentment.”
6. “Do you know someone you want to change, regulate, and improve? Good! That is fine. I am all in favor of it. But why not begin with yourself? From a purely selfish standpoint, that is much more profitable than trying to improve others – yes, and much less dangerous. “Don’t complain about the snow on your neighbor’s roof when your doorstep is unclean.”
7. “Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain – and most fools do. But it takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving.”
8. “God himself, sir, does not propose to judge a man until the end of his days. Why should you and I ?”
9. “Once I did bad and that I heard ever/Twice I did good, but that I heard never.”
10. “Don’t be afraid of enemies who attack you. Be afraid of the friends who flatter you. Flattery is telling the other person precisely what he thinks about himself.”
11. “Use what language you will. You can never say anything but what you are” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
12. “I shall pass this way but once; any good I can do or any kindness I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.”
13. “Of course, you are interested in what you want. You are eternally interested in it. But no one else is. The rest of us are just like you: We are interested in what we want.”
14. “If there is one secret of success, It lies in the ability to get the other person’s point of view and see things from that person’s angle as well as your own.”
15. “People who can put themselves in the place of other people, who can understand the workings of their minds, need never worry about what the future has in store for them.”
16. “You can make more friends in two months by becoming genuinely interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get others interested in you.”
17. “It is the individual who is not interested in his fellow men who has the greatest difficulties in life and provides the greatest injury to others. It is from among such individuals that all human failures spring.”
18. “Actions speak louder than words, and a SMILE says, I like you. You make me happy. I am glad to see you.”
19. “Actions seem to follow feeling, but action and feeling go together; and by regulating the action, which is under the more direct control of the will, we can indirectly regulate the feeling, which is not” – William James
20. “It isn’t what you have, who you are, where you are, or what you do that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about it.”
I have also created a video of a few quotes from the book – I hope you like it. Please subscribe to my YouTube channel – Myread4change.
21. ” Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be” – Abraham Lincoln
22. “A man without a SMILE must not open a shop” – Chinese Proverb
23. “Remember that NAME and call it easily, and you have paid a subtle and very effective compliment. But forget or misspell it – and you have placed yourself at a sharp disadvantage.”
24. “Remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.”
25. ” Many people fail to make a favorable impression because they don’t listen attentively. They have been so concerned with what they will say next that they do not keep their ears open.”
26. “People who talk only of themselves think only of themselves. And those people who only of themselves, are hopelessly uneducated no matter how instructed they may”
27. ” The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated. Always make the other person feel important.”
28. “A man convinced against his will agrees still.”
29. ” There is only one way under high heaven to get the best of an argument – and that is to AVOID it.”
30. “If you argue and rankle and contradict, you may achieve a victory sometimes, but it will be an empty victory because you will never get your opponent’s goodwill.”
31. “Hatred is never ended by hatred but by LOVE, and a misunderstanding is never ended by an argument but by tact, diplomacy, conciliation, and a sympathetic desire to see other person’s viewpoint.”
32. “Distrust you first Instinctive Impression – Our first natural reaction in a disagreeable situation is to be defensive. Be careful. Keep calm and watch out for your first reaction. It may be you at your worst, not your best.”
33. “Control your temper. Remember, you can measure a person’s size by what makes them angry.”
34. “If you tell them they are wrong, do you make them want to agree with you? Never. You have struck a direct blow at their intelligence, judgment, pride, and self-respect.”
35. “You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him find it within himself” – Galileo
36. “Be wiser than other people if you can, but do not tell them so” – Lord Chesterfield
37. ” Our first reaction to most of the statements (which we hear from others) is an evaluation or judgment, rather than an understanding of it.”
38. “Any fool can try to defend his or her mistakes – and most fools do – but it raises one above the herd and gives one a feeling of nobility and exultation to admit one’s mistake.”
39. “If you disagree with them, you may be tempted to interrupt. But don’t. It is dangerous. They won’t pay attention to you while they still have a lot of ideas of their crying for the expression.”
40. “A person usually has two reasons for doing a thing: one that sounds good and a real one” – J. Pierpont Morgan
41. “Praise is like sunlight to the warm human spirit; we cannot flower and grow without it.”
I hope these quotes and lines are helpful and inspiring and educate you in better ways of dealing with people. Feel free to share this post with all you connect who can benefit from these words.
Please share your favorite quote/line from above or in the comment. I would love to learn from it.
You may check out the review of How to Win Friends and Influence People.
I wish you an excellent relationship with yourself and others.
Muzammil
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