Louis Bonaventura asked:
Have you come across a person who is so naturally friendly that when you put him inside a room of strangers, he’ll be friends with almost everyone in no time?
We call such person a “people-person”, someone unbelievably nice and charismatic that he can charm anyone into doing anything.
A socially-empowered person achieves so much greatness, basically due to the people that catapult him to success. He earns the trust and full support of the people, whom he has helped before. He never runs out of assistance or places to turn when he needs help.
He can do anything with the plethora of people behind him. All because he knows how to maximize his social potential!
See, if you know your social skills and you make use of them, you will develop your self-empowerment. Self-empowerment is making a general overhaul in your life and turning yourself into a happier and more successful person.
If you can be one of those “people-persons”, then you are well on your way to the success you deserve. Let me show you how to get started.
1. Always be genuine.
Hypocrisy will bring you all the way down. Be genuinely nice to, and interested in, people. Once they perceive that you are Mr. Hypocrite with self-serving intentions, you might as well say goodbye to self-empowerment and also any thought of becoming friends.
2. Strive to be the greatest listener that you can be.
Learn to listen. This is the one skill that people lack the most and it is very rarely taught. You’ve heard this saying: You have 2 ears and one mouth … learn to use them proportionately! Use this effectively and consistently!
To earn the love and trust of the people, you must listen to their problems and sympathize with them. Do not just hear them out, listen to them with your heart.
Make eye contact when the person talks to you. Listen as if every word matters, because it does. Brownie points will accumulate, and friendships will be formed, when they find out that there is a confidante in you.
3. Laugh out loud.
I do not mean that you force yourself to laugh for every joke cracked by someone, especially if you do not find it funny at all. What I mean is finding humor in things and not being so darn serious all the time.
A person oozing with an awesome sense of humor attracts crowds and eventually, attracts success. The law of attraction comes into play here!
4. Don’t forget yourself.
In the process of fluttering around like a social butterfly, you might forget yourself, allowing everyone to push you around. Remember, love and value yourself before anyone else.
If you deem yourself respectable and worthy of affection, people will flock to you and not trample on you.
5. Perform random acts of kindness.
You don’t have to be a John Rockefeller and send all your savings to charity, admirable as it is. Little acts of kindness matter the most, and this can be as simple as giving someone a surprise you-take-care card or helping an elderly person cross the street.
When we were kindergarten students, kindness was taught to us and greatly practiced. As time goes on, things happen in people’s lives and attitudes change. Now is the time to revive the good deeds and this time, hang on to them for good.
6. Contact your old friends.
It’s sad how some friendships are destined to dissolve and disappear, but thanks to technology, you can do something about it. Relive the good old days by flipping open your yearbook and look for the great people whom you want to communicate with again.
Adding these old friends to your roster of support peers will surely make you feel good all over.
7. Develop your personality.
Are you grouchy, grumpy and generally morose? Whoa there big fella, you can’t go through life with those feelings! Get rid of the bad traits and habits, commonly known as “habitudes”, which perpetually hamper your growth. Honestly, who wants a grouchy friend anyway?
8. Always remain confident.
Be able to stride to the other corner of the room and introduce yourself to people with that winning smile of yours. Just remember: be confident, not arrogant or conceited. It isn’t all about you!
9. Practice control.
When angry, don’t snap at anyone. Never, ever, throw a tantrum. Stay calm and collected.
Be adult enough to take control of the situation and transform your anger into something more productive and passive. As soon as people find your anger goes to volcanic proportions easily, they will find it hard, if not impossible, to approach you.
10. Keep nurturing your relationships.
Your relationship with your family, friends and significant others is too precious to you and you must not neglect them no matter what!
Go out and have fun with them. Do things together. Happiness will never leave your side as long as the people who matter the most are close to you.
In the end, through other people, self-empowerment means becoming a better and more lovable person. It’s a win-win situation; the people know they can turn to you anytime for anything and visa versa.