PRINCIPLE 7：
Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to.
A bachelor friend of mine， about forty years old， becameengaged， and his fiancée persuaded him to take some belateddancing lessons. “The Lord knows I needed dancing lessons，”
he confessed as he told me the story， “for I danced just as I didwhen I first started twenty years ago. The first teacher I engagedprobably told me the truth. She said I was all wrong； I would justhave to forget everything and begin all over again. But that tookthe heart out of me. I had no incentive to go on. So I quit her.
“The next teacher may have been lying， but I liked it. Shesaid nonchalantly that my dancing was a bit old-fashionedperhaps， but the fundamentals were all right， and she assuredme I wouldn’t have any trouble learning a few new steps. Thefirst teacher had discouraged me by emphasizing my mistakes.
This new teacher did the opposite. She kept praising the things Idid right and minimizing my errors. ‘You have a natural sense ofrhythm，’ she assured me. ‘You really are a natural-born dancer.’
Now my common sense tells me that I always have been andalways will be a fourth-rate dancer； yet， deep in my heart， I stilllike to think that maybe she meant it. To be sure， I was paying herto say it； but why bring that up？
“At any rate， I know I am a better dancer than I would havebeen if she hadn’t told me I had a natural sense of rhythm. Thatencouraged me. That gave me hope. That made me want toimprove.”
Tell your child， your spouse， or your employee that he or sheis stupid or dumb at a certain thing， has no gift for it， and is doingit all wrong， and you have destroyed almost every incentive to tryto improve. But use the opposite technique—be liberal with yourencouragement， make the thing seem easy to do， let the otherperson know that you have faith in his ability to do it， that he hasan undeveloped flair for it—and he will practice until the dawncomes in the window in order to excel.
Lowell Thomas， a superb artist in human relations， used thistechnique， He gave you confidence， inspired you with courageand faith.
If you want to help others to improve， remember ...
