You get what you want by giving others what they want. This is a recurring theme in any course on behaviourial psychology. It is a powerful message delivered differently by various authors and with dazzling humour by some talented presenters.
Many advocates of influencing people positively present their material with an aura of scientific precision. They categorize people, labeling them ‘relaters’, ‘socializers’, ‘daydreamers’, and ‘facilitators’, along with varied other such tags. It’s all very entertaining but I find these so-named practical appellations no more useful than grouping students as ‘friends’, ‘foes’ or ‘fair-minded’.
Students are not robotic in their conduct. Understanding participants is chock-full of art, albeit some science. And, in relating with people, there is no better chemistry than the application of the Golden Rule: Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you.
Speak to people the way you want to be spoken to. Manage individuals the way you want to be managed. Treat folks the way you want to be treated.
By regarding individuals in compliance with the Golden Rule, a person’s behavioural style, as well as your own, artfully becomes open and direct regardless of the cultural, political, or social differences among people.
There is no more fundamental tip, technique, or strategy that creates a more productive environment for learning than the principle that you should treat others as you wish to be treated or, stated from their perspective, treating others as they wish to be treated.
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