Why is it that some people, though they possess no special skills or have a merely ordinary level of talent or intelligence, seem to go farther in life than those who, at least on paper, seem more gifted or able? What is that makes some people just seem more appealing to peers, superiors, and clients, even though they may not be the hardest worker or biggest producer? What these people possess is something that Dale Carnegie helped people to develop with How to Win Friends and Influence People. But whereas people utilizing Carnegie's approach sometimes come off as disingenuous, those who have adopted speaker and coach David Rich's methods have discovered that they can be compelling and appealing without masking their own personalities. For years Rich has been teaching people how to have great business and personal relationships, effortlessly. For example, a sales person may know and even have mastered the skills needed to be a great sales person, but if they are not personally appealing, they will never reach their full potential.
For David, this personal appeal, or "contagiousness" is simply practicing the skills and striving to embody the qualities that will make you more compelling in business, more appealing in your personal life, and more fulfilled all around. It's that extra edge that will allow you to lead a fuller, more rewarding life. But how does one go about this? Isn't it just something you're born with? Not at all. David has been teaching hundreds of thousands of people to be more successful in their relationships by showing them how to focus on developing their confidence, their curiousity, and their commitment, just to name a few of the ingredients. But the book is more than just a collection of vaguely uplifting aphorisms: people leave David's keynotes and seminars with the tools they need to click with others every time, both at work and at play, and readers will get the same benefits. For example: The second lesson is Curiosity. Contagious people seem to instinctively draw people closer to them, and one of the specific ways to do this is through the "Big Greeting." It's a way of greeting someone as if you've known them all your life.
David covers eye contact, appropriate and inappropriate body contact, handshakes, and how to focus on them. Lesson Three is Connectedness. David teaches the reader how to use their voice to be contagious. There are four primary voice patterns: SRHI (slow rate, high inflection), SRLI (slow rate, low inflection), FRLI (fast rate, low inflection), and FRHI (fast rate, high inflection). By noticing and being sensitive to another person's pattern and then using that pattern themselves, people attract others to them and create subtle bonds with them. Lesson Six is Congruency. David challenges the reader to take inventory of their values and priorities. For instance, a truly contagious person is one who really does like people, not just someone who is pretending to like people for personal gain. The author believes everyone has the necessary elements to be contagious, but first they have to reorganize their values and priorities in order to access those contagious qualities.