Once upon a time, there was a young teenage girl named Melissa who wanted to be liked. “Is that too much to ask?” she thought. “If more people liked me I would have more friends to hang out with, be invited to more activities, have more babysitting customers, feel better about myself – not to mention having more friends to network with later on in life. What am I to do? *sob, sob*”
One night as Melissa was trying to sleep, her room filled with light and there – standing next to her bed – was a beautiful woman with brown hair and red highlights holding a wand. “Who are you?” Melissa asked in amazement.
“I’m your fairy godmother, Kayanne,” said the beautiful woman. “I’ve come to grant you your wish.”
“Oh, fairy godmother, how wonderful. Are you going to wave your wand and make people like me?”
“No, no, my dear. That only happens in fairytales. This is reality. What I am going to do is show you what YOU can do to get people to like you. Now, listen carefully, as I enlighten you with 6 ways to make people like you. Perhaps you should take notes.”
1 – Become Interested in Other People
When I was a little girl, we had a dog named Sheba. Every afternoon she would sit at the gate and wait for me to return from school. When she saw me walking up the driveway she would bark joyously and wag her tail so hard it would wag her whole body. She always cheered me up, didn’t judge me, liked me for who I was – and wasn’t afraid to show it.
I loved Sheba because she was so interested in me. Here’s the thing I want you to learn from Sheba:
You can make more friends by being interested in other people than you can by trying to get other people interested in you.
Don’t think about how you can get other people to like you. Think about what you can do to show other people that you are interested in them.
Here are some ideas to consider:
- Go out of your way to help someone.
- Say hello to people.
- Send a birthday card to children you babysit, on their birthday.
- Bake something for a neighbor.
I want you to take your mind off of yourself and focus it on other people. Now I’m going to tell you how to do that. The first way is so simple you won’t believe it.
2 – Smile
You need to smile more, girl. I’m not talking about an insincere grin. No, that doesn’t fool anybody. I’m talking about a real, heartwarming smile. The effect of a smile on other people is powerful, especially for being such a small thing that only takes a second.
If you want people to have a good time meeting you, you must have a good time meeting them. Your smile shows that you do. And girl, you have a beautiful smile. Use it more!
Practice smiling at babies and toddlers, then your parents and brothers and sisters. (They’ll wonder what you’re up to). Then practice at people you hardly know. Then smile at people who you meet. I’ll bet you will notice a difference in how you feel and how you make others feel.
Be sure to smile at your babysitting customers. Yeah, I’ve been watching you. You say you want to be a more successful babysitter? Smile more. Seriously.
3 – Remember People’s Names
Do you know the seven dwarfs’ names? In case you don’t, here they are: Bashful, Doc, Dopey, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy and Sneezy. Can you imagine Snow White forgetting their names? “Hey you. Over there sneezing. Remind me your name again?”
I want you to be like Snow White and remember everybody’s name. Here’s why.
The most important sound to a person is the sound of his or her name. If you take the time and effort to remember and call everyone by name, they will feel like you’ve given them a compliment. You like it when people remember your name, don’t you? Everybody does. Even fairy godmothers.
Call your babysitting customers by name whether in person or on the phone: “Hi Mrs. Harris.” “Bye Mrs. Harris”.
When you meet someone for the first time. Memorize their name. If you didn’t hear it right, say, “tell me your name again.” Then repeat it right away. “Nice to me you Dartaineun”. Keep saying it to yourself until you can remember. Write it down if you have to. Associate it with another word: Dartaineun sounds like uranium.
Then have some fun. When you see that person again. Use their name. “Hi Dartaineun.” If they say your name back: “Hi your name“. You can feel complimented. If they just say “hi”, you know they forgot your name. But you’ll feel good you remembered theirs – and so will they. If later they call you by name, you will know they asked someone what your name is. Then you can feel complimented too.
Isn’t communication fun?