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Agreed. I think "How to Win Friends and Influence People" is a must read for everyone. And yes, its not about using it to get what you want, it is more about making engagements with other people more pleasant. If you instinctively sympathise with other people, even if they in the end don't "sway" to what you want, you had a great experience with another person.

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I find "How to Win Friends" a bit dangerous. It's great if you use it in moderation, but the people who are most likely to need it will not understand that.

After reading it, it suddenly became very clear to me why certain people, particularly aggressive salespeople, are so annoying: they take the stuff in that book (e.g. "use people's names when you talk to them") and turn it up to 11, where it's very obvious how they're trying to manipulate you with it.

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