How Do You Treat Others? Take A Different Strategy For Different Results

Perhaps you take the opposite tact. Do you treat everyone as being important? Do you feel a person's worth is intrinsic and independent of their Job, Wealth or Social Status? Are you polite and considerate?

The manner in which you treat others has a direct bearing on how they respond to and treat you. As the opening quote so aptly states, people tend to meet your expectations. Of course, this doesn't happen 100 Percent of the time, but it does hold true in many circumstances.

Suppose you bought a vacuum cleaner and it stopped working 10 days after the Store's Return Period had ended? Aggravated, you rush back to return it. As you approach William, a customer service associate, you are annoyed and expect to be told that there is nothing the Store can do for you.

Being ready for a fight, you snap at William as soon as he asks how he can help you. William spends his day facing upset and irate customers. Now he has to deal with you. Do you think William will go out of his way to help you out? Probably not.

What if you take a different strategy? Granted, you are upset that the vacuum cleaner broke and you realize that technically the Store doesn't have to help you. But you also understand that there is always latitude in spite of Formal Return Policies.

Walking up to William you have a smile and the attitude that you know William will be able to help you resolve your problem. You treat William with respect and ask for his assistance. This strategy will give you a much better chance for a satisfactory resolution of your problem.

People do indeed react to how you treat them. They will subconsciously adjust their performance to meet your expectations. Expect little and you'll get less. Let someone know that you believe in them, their capabilities and potential and you will get more than you anticipated.

It's difficult, if not impossible, to force a person to behave in a particular fashion. Even in situations where you may wield power over someone via employment or other circumstances, coerced cooperation will lead to resentment and an unstable relationship at best.

At times, you have to treat people in a way that is the opposite of how they are acting. This is often difficult to do. It's a real challenge to treat someone well when they are treating you poorly. Although treating them as poorly as they are treating you may be tempting, the chances of you reaching your objective are close to zero. Usually, the only thing that will happen is having the situation deteriorate further.

Treating someone well who is treating you poorly doesn't necessarily guarantee success, but it does give you the best chance of a positive solution. In these cases, treating someone well requires a lot of patience, persistence and perseverance.

Treat people as you want them to act. Let others know you recognize their potential and believe in their capabilities. Do these things and you will be pleased with the results.

Bryan is the Author of "Dare to Live Without Limits." Contact Bryan At: Bryan@columnist.com. Or Visit: www.DareToLiveWithoutLimits.com