So there I was working for Brevard Community College in
2009, when twenty six BCC employees, including myself were hand selected by the
college president Dr. James Drake to participate in the training course called
“Dale Carnegie”. The Dale Carnegie
course was very prestigious and was well known for teaching effective
communication skills and human relations concepts.
The Dale Carnegie course consists of 9 main principles:
1. don’t criticize condemn, or complain. 2. Give honest, sincere appreciation.
3. Arouse in the other person an eager want. 4. Become genuinely interested in
the other people. 5. Smile 6. Remember that a person’s name is to that person
the sweetest and most important sound in any language. 7. Be a good listener
and encourage others to talk about themselves. 8. Talk in terms of the other
person’s interest and 9. Make the other person feel important- and do it
sincerely. Each of the above listed principles
helped me establish a foundation for overcoming communication barriers.
In Dale Carnegie course my colleague and I were to share our
experiences with one another. Each week for
12 weeks, my colleagues and I were given different topics to speak about. Each
topic was meant to teach each of us something and for each of us, each topic served
its own unique purpose. It was through the stories told that we learned how to
master our lives. One of the stories that I shared with the class was about my
last semester in High School. High School was very tough for me and I did not
do exceptionally well in all of my classes. During the last semester of my
senior year, I had failed American Government (a required class needed to
graduate) for the 2nd time and was not allowed to walk with my
graduating class. When I shared this story with my colleagues they understood
my experience as if they knew what is was like to die trying. I felt relieved
and heartfelt all at the same time; I put my heart and emotions into my speech and
achieved success.
By sharing stories based on experiences, a person can
overcome a lifetime of fear; that is what the Dale Carnegie course taught me. I
believe that though our stories we build self confidence, establish people
skills, enhance communication skills, develop leadership skills and reduce one’s
fear of public speaking. Without the Dale Carnegie course, I wouldn’t have the
ability today to strike up a conversation with someone new.
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