I found this book in the street. I wish I could say it changed my life, sadly that would be an exaggeration. I started reading it and found the stories entertaining. However none of the stories mentioned in the book stick with me.

It reminds some things that people forget easily. So far I’m being nicer to people. Say hello and smile. Let them talk and be a good listener. I think the entire point of this book is to not forget about other people.

Overall it did not provide new insights. I think I’ve heard all the tips about letting people talk about themselves and looking through lens of others. I also skipped some little parts as I found it repetitive.

But if it’s not full of new insights why bother reading it? Well there are a few reasons. The book was filled with stories it helps to feel more connection to the adivce.

For example one advice from the book is to let others talk. This is hard to apply but the book shows why you should let others talk during conflicts. Why you should let someone talk to make friends. These examples help the advice to stick. Of course it needs practice. For me the practice was to notice how often I and others fail at this simple thing. I’ve interacted with a lot of people who cut you in the middle of your story to mention something. I intentionally refrained myself from mentioning stuff when someone is telling a story. Try it and you see it’s very tempting. When someone is telling something and calls something with a wrong name, you can still listen to the story and then correct the name.

Overall I’m happy I picked up the book on that day. I think everyone should read it. Either to hear the advices or to be reminded about them.