Audio Program: The 5 Essential People Skills

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"The 5 Essential People Skills" is a 5-CD set from the Dale Carnegie organization, available through Nightingale-Conant.

I have listened to it over and over, and even outlined it for easy review. Two areas that I found particularly helpful were the areas on assertiveness and effective listening.

In this conflict-filled, "in your face" world, the skills of assertiveness are hugely valuable: all adults have an equal right to express their views calmly and respectfully, and to treat others' views the same way. The CDs spell out numerous methods for getting your assertive message across in spite of many obstacles presented that a listener might present such as anger, denial, etc.

Regarding effective listening...I quickly learned that I had miles to go before I could consider myself even a moderately effective listener. The core skill is getting your own preoccupations out of the way and truly empathizing with the speaker.

Other topics on the CD were equally insightful, especially the areas on dealing with various personality types (I think I’m a “Secret Agent”), and the area of conflict resolution.

With a little understanding, empathy, praise, and, of course, assertiveness, we can all be more effective in our work and personal lives. This CD set has hours of great tips on how to increase your People Skills.

Tech Tags: people skills interpersonal skills assertiveness negotiation conflict resolution