Effective Ways to Treat People

I once led a group of over 30 individuals for almost a year and for some divine reasons, I purposely took the big role.

Some were strong-minded and some were modest, some were aggressive and some were passive. Some were very smart, and some are okay. But almost everyone had an opinion.

Our success depended on each and every one of us. When one failed, everyone failed. Needless to say, there had to be a collaborate effort in making sure our visions were aligned.

This brought about a very challenging task for me – how to treat each one of them uniquely.

People think, act, and behave differently depending on their culture and upbringing. Over time, I learned to shift my paradigm of thinking based on the person I am talking to. I adjusted my way of thinking to align with the values and interests of the person I am having interaction.

I learned a lot from this experience. I used to talk a lot, I always had an opinion. I believed I was right most of time. I always proved and defended myself. And worst, I didn't listen. But after interacting with these 30 individuals on a daily basis for a year, it changed some of my perspectives.

Here are some of the important lessons I learned on how to treat people effectively. In my experience, these have been proven to be very effective in not only influencing people and making a positive impact on their lives but also to align a team's vision to accomplish a challenging goal:

• Smile.
  
• Be genuinely interested in other person.
  
• Be honest and sincere in your appreciation.
  
• Arouse in the other person an eager want.
  
• Be a good listener.
  
• Encourage people to talk about themselves.
  
• Remember their names.
  
• Make them feel important and do it sincerely.
  
• Talk in terms of their interests.

To this date, I still treat people this way. It took some self-disciplining to shut my mouth and control the little voice in my head. I listened first and tried to be understanding – knowing that part of maturity is being able to delay pleasure and make sacrifices today. Every day is an opportunity to make a change in yourself and other people’s lives.

Tomorrow, start by treating people well.