How to Influence People

[Kat Kanning]

Maybe this is a totally goofy idea, but I was thinking it might be helpful to have a discussion group about the book, "How to Win Friends and Influence People"  by Dale Carnegie.  If we'd like to make a change in society through peaceful means, it seems like we need to be able to talk to people in a way in which they'll be more apt to listen.  With myself being a prime example, the typical libertarian's social skills can be somewhat...lacking.  We criticize, we argue.  Do we convince anyone with these methods?  Or do we do it just for fun?   

Maybe future books could be things like SamIAm suggested, the Law of Attraction or The Tripping Point.  I think ideas such as these could be a huge boon to our movement.  Movements like Gandhi's and Martin Luther King's got what they were striving for - independence from Britain and Civil Rights - it's just that they weren't striving for the right things that would give them real freedom.

Would anyone be interested in such a discussion group?

Cancelled.

[bigmike]

I'd be part of that discussion group, Kat. Excellent idea and it's a great read too that can be used in many facets of everyday life.

I haven't read it in almost 15 years but I'll re-read it to brush up the contents.

[bigmike]

Found the google books link for a preview

http://books.google.com/books?id=UhTCKXkWLs8C&dq=how+to+win+friends+and+influence+people&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=1KK8yik7JO&sig=5_5Cq5BZOwcx36v_3MRJby1b-Xs&hl=en&ei=6A7pSfrZNISmM5_ojO0F&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5#PPA3,M1

[FTL_Ian]

Great book - highly recommended!

[Tom Sawyer]

Very good idea Kat.

[Jitgos]

Great idea! I read it at least once a year. Not that I'm great at implementing it constantly. The first chapter is really difficult to get through with a bunch of pro-state thoughts, but after that it's not too bad as far as liberty.

[Lloyd Danforth]

Grumble grumble, sounds like poo to me.

PatK posting under Lloyds name.

[George Donnelly]

Great idea! I would love to be part of that. Haven't read that book since college. If all goes as expected I'm moving towards the end of May.

[Mike Barskey]

I think it's a great idea. I'd like to try to participate ("try" because I have a bad history of not motivating myself to read when there's a deadline involved).

[Peacemaker]

Good Idea Kat.  It's always good to help people communicate more effectively.  And I'll take this opportunity to share the one thing I know about this.

Question:  Did you ever buy anything off of someone you didn't like?

Answer:  Most Likely, no way.  Everyone is selling something, in this case, Liberty and more Freedom. 

If you want to be successful in whatever it is you're selling, you better be damn sure the one(s) you're selling too, like you (or else forget it).

[Giggan]

If I'm free then I'm down. Great book.

[kickinandtickin]

I don't know if I can make the event in person, geographically, etc., but I will forward some thoughts and ideas here. If I should get hit by a bus in the interim, here are some clues:

Nancy White at Full Circle Associates has some thoughts on building online community;

the collective wisdom initiative may have some clues (especially in 'becoming consciously vibralingual');

there is a good deal of work out there on intentional communities. or communities of practice;

the role and involvement of music, mood, humor, intention, transformation, teamwork, facilitation skills, creative/active listening, "the felt sense", and others;

Presence: An Exploration of Profound Change in People, Organizations and Society, written by Peter Senge, C. Otto Scharmer, Joseph Jaworski and Betty Sue Flowers.

Senge is the author of The Fifth Discipline and the founding chairman of the Society for Organizational Learning. Scharmer is a visiting professor at the Helsinki School of Economics. Jaworski is the chairman of Generon Consulting, the cofounder of the Global Leadership Initiative.

More at http://www.presence.net/, and information about the Society for Organizational Learning can be found at http://www.solonline.org/.


See also

http://www.massivechange.com/

http://www.brucemaudesign.com/massivechange1.html

Or the book The Translucent Revolution: How People Just Like You are Waking Up and Changing the World, which has a five-page bibliography and a 30-page appendix that lists over 80 programs, institutes and web sites devoted to creating a life and a world in which the Light shines through. Perhaps a fearful and distrustful government will clamp down on such efforts (reminiscent perhaps of the Chinese reaction to Falun Gong, or earlier reactions to the Reformation, etc).

Or "Collective Consciousness and Cultural Healing" at http://www.simpleliving.net/awakeningearth/pdf/collective_consciousness.pdf

or a curriculum for communication training at http://www.comminit.com/printversion.cgi?url=http://www.comminit.com/trainingonline/training2003/trainingonline-33.html

or God and the Evolving Universe: The Next Step in Personal Evolution, by James Redfield, Michael Murphy and Sylvia Timbers, Tarcher/Putnam, New York 2002.  [The book also contains a 66-page guide to the literature of transformative practice and a 28-page series of simple suggested practices that will deepen anyone's abilities in personal development of body/mind/spirit unity.]

or Leadership Presence: Dramatic Techniques to Reach Out, Motivate and Inspire, Belle Linda Halpern and Kathy Lubar, Gotham Books, NY, 2003.  [Using techniques derived from the art of acting... being present in the moment, being present in movement, empathy, expressiveness, self-knowing, self-reflection and authenticity.  See also www.arielgroup.com ]


Part of what may be needed is the maintenance of momentum.
http://z7.invisionfree.com/E_Pluribus_Unum/index.php?showtopic=7933