Pointers to Help You Reach Your Goals and Get What You Want

A recent opportunity to attend a conference in career coaching that included lessons in charm showed me just how important this social interaction is. I do not think I have ever had a problem charming someone when it was necessary but I never really thought about charm much either. My hour long lesson in charm did a lot to show me that true charm is a vital tool in helping me get what I want in my professional career as well as my personal life.

Here are some pointers to turn on the charm.

Know How To Think Like a Leader

If you have an eye for detail and can use the knowledge and information you have on a particular subject to help others people will begin to see you as a leader. Use this ability and some charm to impress potential employers by appealing to their ego. For example, the "Why do you want to work for our company?" question used to kill me. Now I know how to breeze through this type of question using a little knowledge and some charm. Being able to answer back enthusiastically with the latest performance results or why you think future plans that are set in place are a smart move may give you that leg up that you need.

Work The Ego Stroke

Having four brothers, two who are extremely stubborn, I learned how to turn on the charm with a little ego stroking from a young age. Turns out this subtle move can get me far professionally as well, helping to motivate those around me and improve relationships in general. The power of persuasion really does change the way those around you behave, just remind people in your life or at work how important they are to you or a project and you watch the results.

Praise, Praise, and Praise Some More

The important thing to remember in this part of the lesson is knowing when to praise, don't just praise someone for the sake of praising. Praise people for the effort they make not natural intelligence or know how. Take the time to acknowledge those around you and then recognize the effort they have put into a task. When you praise someone's effort they feel as if they some control over their success and will bring about future cooperation.

Be Nice, and Not Just When You Want Something

This is just plain common sense, but still I see so many people who are regularly rude or inconsiderate right up until the moment when they want something. Face it, no matter how good you apply the other pointers and work that charm if you are not a nice person to be around on a daily basis the charm WILL NOT WORK. Being able to put the happiness of others on your to do list will get you far when you need help consideration. This is not a hard step, simply show interest in the goings on of those around you, take the time to introduce yourself to the newbie, and treat people with respect .

These four pointers along with the ability to listen, a little wit and manners can get you far. Avoid getting schmoozy and it will work like a charm.