Make Yourself Unforgettable

Make Yourself Unforgettable: The Dale Carnegie Class-Act System: Dale Carnegie Training             Audiobook:  5 hours 2 minutes     Paperback Book:  240 pages      

I always think of Dale Carnegie books as something I should read.     There is always some nugget of wisdom to be found there.     This book I would describe as a book of common sense.    Pretty much everything covered here seemed to me to be things that if one considered them the wisdom here was simply common sense.     If you are listening to someone speak directly to you and the person speaking to you can tell you are merely thinking about what you are going to say to them not actively listening that is not a class act.    A class act actively listens and really pays attention to what the other person is saying.    A really class act will not only listen attentively they will be able to ask questions and reiterate to the person verbatim what they said or o.k. they can sum up and paraphrase what the other person is saying because they were actually listening to what the other person was saying.   Then once the other person has finished talking and only then should the listener continue the conversation.   One should never interrupt the speaker but hold their tongue until it is their turn – that qualifies as a class act.     The book discusses developing strong communication skills, how to prevent fear and anxiety from seeping into your conscious when you must deliver a speech, how to gain confidence in business and social situations, it goes over ethical behavior and some of the ways ethical behavior can be sabotaged inadvertently.    This would likely be a book for young people wanting to get the basics of savoir faire in business behavior, there is a lot of social etiquette tips here, high concentrations on the art of learning to listen by being receptive not reactive, but it is in my opinion a 101 Course.   It was o.k. but I found myself bored with it because in the end everything being discussed is purely common sense training and just re-emphasizing what adults should have already learned though point taken not all adults have learned these skills.    At best this would be Sophmore or Junior level Highschool Course or recommended reading in that level curriculum.    At worst – a Freshman Course in college no higher than a 101 and likely one of several required readings for a college level course.   I think everyone would ace the test.