Ready...Steady....Go!

The sun is shining and the air is filled with the sounds of cheers and whistles. The roads are clear of cars and there are people lining both sides of the street, crammed together and craning their necks to catch a glimpse of the runners. I’m at the London 2010 marathon.

The atmosphere is electric and everyone around me is happy and excited, everyone is here for the same reason to cheer on the people brave enough (or you could say mad enough!) to run 26 miles around London. Most of the people running are doing it to raise money for their chosen charity, their commitment and enthusiasm is inspiring – some are even going that bit further and running it in fancy dress as camels or chickens.

The crowd of on-lookers are not only here to support their loved ones but to support absolutely everyone who is running and they are a great example of Dale Carnegie’s principles for becoming a friendlier person. I have never been anywhere where everyone is so kind, generous and friendly to complete strangers; on marathon day London is the friendliest city you will ever go to!

Principle 3 – Arouse in the other person an eager want.

If the crowd saw someone struggling they would shout to egg them on and give them a pat on the back as they ran by.

Principle 6 – Remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest most important sound in any langauge.

Lots of the runners had their names written on their tops and the crowd shouted out their names with words of encouragment – ‘Come on Sue, your over half way.’ This made the runners feel important almost like they were famous and gave them that extra bit of adrenelin to keep on running.

Priniciple 5 – Smile

It may seem like such a small thing but just a smile from a stranger can really help to keep someone going as they reach mile 20 and begin to hit the pain barrier.

Why not try using these principles all the time and perhaps we can make London feel like its marathon day everyday!

Sophie Whittall
Marketing & Admin Co-ordinator
www.London.dalecarnegie.com

Play Win Win

Volcanic ash, its dominated the news and sent major disruptions to travelers worldwide, clearly the biggest event to rock aviation since 911. During the airport standstill, I was curious to see how companies directly involved were handling the pressure from their customers, so I rang the British Airways customer service line. Immediately a voice prompt informed me that the call centre was experiencing immense volumes of calls and if my enquiry was not urgent, to call back at a later time or visit the website, I waited a few minutes and thought I would try my experiment on a different airline (one not quite as heavily affected by the crisis).
So I rang Qantas, again, the same voice prompt, high volumes, visit the website, but this time I waited and was connected. I opened the conversation by being as nice and friendly as possible, I spoke to “Vicky”, I asked her how the past week had been for her. She was surprised by my first question and said she had been working around the clock dealing with calls, trying to help people who were stuck all around the globe. Realizing I needed a reason for my call, I enquired about a flight for later in the year. She didn’t dismiss my enquiry even though it clearly wasn’t urgent and at the end of our 3 minute conversation I had got the quote I was looking for, thanked her for her help, and she said, “thank you so much for being appreciative… By the way, that is the very best deal you will get at that time of year and if you want to get a good seat best do it on the phone so we can help you if there is an upgrade available”.

I understand my situation is different to those that were stuck all over the world who have missed weddings, holidays etc, however, taking it out on people like Vicky wont help their cause – I know for a fact she didn’t want the volcano to erupt, but it did.
There are things we can control and things we cant. The Volcano is clearly out of our control, how we deal with what it brings it is purely our choice. Taking the call centre as an example, I used two of Dale Carnegies principles and put them to the test, which got me a positive result.

Principle 13: Begin in a Friendly Way.
I began by asking her how she was, sympathizing, then agreeing it has been a crazy time in her industry. How many people before me had started the conversation with: “Look, I am stuck in Geneva and have had it up to here with your company”. This puts Vicky offside and ultimately hinders your chance of getting what you want.

Principle 17: Try Honestly to See Things From the Other Persons Point of View.
I doubt Vicky wants people to be stuck in Geneva missing their families and friends, I also highly doubt she wants to be working around the clock dealing with a crisis. Both these things are out of her control, but what is in her control is that she can help you get a better seat or bonus frequent flyers in the future, my point is, always aim for win win.

Next time you are about to call a customer service line out of frustration, first think about what you ultimately want to get from the call, then think how you can play win win to get the result!

Angus Firth
Performance Consultant

http://www.London.dalecarnegie.com/

Spring Cleaning!

It is that time of year when we yearn to ferret out the dirt lurking in the normally unseen and/or awkward places of our homes. Perhaps we could extend this to our lives and work; here are four ideas.

Use of time - we are all blessed with 24 hours a day. Frequently our time is high jacked by other people; they will not mean to disrupt our day but will just have to talk to us about something that is bothering them, often at great length. We need to take control. Give them a clear space for them and stick to the arrangement, giving total attention at the right time.

File management - there are mysteries lurking within our filing cabinet drawers and computer folders. The golden rule of filing: it is not where we put something that is important, but how we find it. How many times have we tidied up our folders and discovered documents and material that would have been really useful: if only we had known. There is no shame in keeping a piece of information because we think it will be useful; we just need to remap our system of files and computer folders to reflect our life.

Clearing mess – there is an ancient art called Feng Shui, which positively channels energy flows by using rules of Chinese philosophy that govern spatial arrangement and orientation – so there you are! We often experience Feng Shui in a negative sense: looking around our work place we feel overwhelmed by the clutter. So buy some cupboards, get a skip, be ruthless – it will feel like losing 5kgs of excess weight!

Relationships - some people energise and inspire us, others exhaust us – we know where we would love to spend more time! The trouble is our great friends and relatives do not berate us for our neglect so they often lose out and so do we. It is time to make that call and fill up the diary with people who we love to be with so we are genuinely too busy for the moaners.

So a bit of Spring Cleaning to support the way we want to be, the person we are and the quality of life we desire.

Jane Kustner
Trainer

www.London.dalecarnegie.com

Direct Engagement

Confirmation at last. The General Election will be held on 6th May.

Have you already decided how to vote? Have you always known which party you support? Or are you going to wait for the TV debates. Or perhaps you want to find out what is promised in the manifestos.

Regardless of whether you've made your mind up, one effective way politicians always gain followers is through face to face canvassing. In these times where technology has paved a way to effortless communication, why do they decide to promote themselves directly? Well because it works. The level of engagement you have with a person face to face can not compare with an email or a flyer.

So why not adopt this with your business! Contact your clients and meet them face to face! I am sure it will positively impact the outcomes of any business transaction.

Corina Balaneanu
Sales Consultant

www.london.dalecarnegie.com

Humph!! - so I might as well be positive

On returning to work this week after a wonderful visit to Ireland it was clearly perceptible how positive people are becoming. Whether it is the prospect of a change in Government or better economics, personally and in society in general or perhaps just because the sun is shining - well almost.

Ireland is a beautiful country and life passes at about 1/10th of the frenetic pace we follow in London. Surrounded by so much natural beauty one would think it is hard to get depressed.
One evening I was chatting with some locals over a couple of pints of the black stuff and we were comparing the two countries from a number of perspectives. They were interested to know how bad things were over here and I felt like they were seeking re-assurance that we were all in the same boat. As a result I have to say that my heart goes out to Walter in Dublin.
Well the craic ended up with a whimsical view from Sean "as long as we have our health and a pint in our hand it cannot be all bad".
And, you know, I think that is how we must view life and to engage with it in a way that provides for the reality or the metaphor of what Sean said.
Sláinte

David Pickering
Consultant

www.london.dalecarnegie.com