When Mr. Reynolds first held up the book Enchantment and summed up that it was about first impressions, selling, and business I knew I wanted to read it. I’ve always loved sales and business. Since I was little I did everything I could to make extra money, and fundraisers were like a game to me. I came up with my own little businesses, thinking someone would want to buy homemade things from a ten year old. Obviously, it didn’t work as I planned. But, everyone always says: Failing is part of the process.
Enchantment was written by Guy Kawasaki. He attended Stanford University and received a degree in psychology. After that, he went to law school at the University of California Davis. He went there for two weeks before he realized he hated law and quit. This lead him to UCLA Anderson School of Management, where he realized he loved to sell. Because of his connections at Stanford, he got a job at Apple. While working at Apple, he helped publish database software systems and co-founded companies such as Garage Technology Ventures. Today, he continues with his writing and speaking.
The first thing we must know is what enchantment is. Kawasaki states, “I define enchantment as the process of delighting people with a product, service, organization, or idea. The outcome of enchantment is voluntary and long-lasting support that is mutually beneficial.” Without enchantment you can’t understand and make connections with people. The first step to enchant people is a good first impression. Whether we want to believe it or not, first impressions are everything. A big smile, firm handshake, and nice outfit isn’t so hard to pull off every once and a while, is it? Personally, I think handshakes are a very important part of a first impression. In tennis we shake our opponents hands before and after the match. This was something I dreaded, because almost all of the girls had weak handshakes. A weak handshake makes that person seem uninterested and lacks confidence.
There is more to enchanting than just your appearance, you also have to gain people’s trust and find a common interest with them. This is probably the most crucial part, because now people have to fall in love with your personality rather than your looks which are easily changeable. A part that stood out to me was, “Everyone isn’t always reasonable, honest, and grateful, but most people are, and you can live your life in one of two ways: thinking people are bad until proven good or thinking they’re good until proven bad.” (Kawasaki 25). I was guilty of the first assumption up until this past year. It’s all based on a positive/negative outlook. It’s better to think people are good until proven bad, because most of the time they are good people and you won’t feel silly for being wrong. So, instead of having people earn your trust, give them your trust until they give you a reason not to.
I’m sure we’ve all heard it time and time again: “Be the bigger person.” This is basically what Kawasaki means when he says “Bake a bigger pie.” Baking a bigger pie means letting people play off your ideas and inventions so that everyone can have a slice. Eaters just want a bigger piece of the pie all to themselves. When baking a bigger pie, you’re doing something for others and not just yourself. Which is a quality trait that everyone values. Do something for people, and not just yourself.
Nobody enjoys having a conversation when the other person has no idea what they’re talking about. Gain knowledge from and education and experience. Another thing is to share your opinions, in a respective manner of course. Having knowledge and an educated opinion is an attractive quality. I’d rather be around someone who has an input on something rather than just responding “I don’t know” to everything that they are asked. Once you are educated and interested in a certain subject, you need to master it. Find out why you do what you do and do it to the best of your abilities. Know your purpose and passion. You need to master what you’re passionate about, and by doing so you’ll enchant those around you.
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