Friendship · editorial rating

Dale Carnegie

Carnegie's core advice, be curious, listen, and make people feel valued, is backed by modern research on liking and conversation. He oversells speed, since real friendship takes many hours, and critics fairly flag the manipulative edge of the influence chapters.

Editorial opinion: SG Score 76 out of 100. Verdict: EVIDENCE-BACKED. This is not a customer star rating and not a finding by a court.

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Strengths

• Core advice on curiosity and listening matches modern research on liking
• Treats relationships as a skill, which fits evidence that social ties protect health
• The book is cheap and the lessons are simple to practice

Weaknesses

• The book promises friends quickly and easily (S3). Later research estimates about 200 hours together for a close friendship (S6).
• Dale Carnegie Training says it has trained over 8 million people. That page does not link an independent audit (S4).

Claims

1. partly. The book promises to enable you to make friends quickly and easily and increase your popularity.

   His habits make people like you more, but research shows friendship takes time: roughly 50 hours to become a casual friend and 200 plus for a close one.

   Sources: R26 R29 R30

2. holds. Become genuinely interested in other people and be a good listener; encourage others to talk about themselves.

   A 2017 Harvard study found that asking questions, especially follow-ups, increases how much conversation partners like you. People also underrate how much others enjoy talking with them.

   Sources: S5 R29 R30

3. partly. Dale Carnegie Training says it has trained over 8 million people worldwide.

   The 8 million figure is the company's own number, and the page does not link an independent audit of outcomes.

   Sources: S4

Also in Friendship

• Marisa G. Franco (88, EVIDENCE-BACKED)

Sources

1. S1 About Dale Carnegie Training. Dale Carnegie. https://dalecarnegiefranchise.com/about-our-coaching-franchise/
2. S2 How to Win Friends and Influence People. Penguin Random House. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/646206/how-to-win-friends-and-influence-people-by-dale-carnegie/
3. S3 How to Win Friends and Influence People Book Club, Part 2. Econlib (Bryan Caplan). https://www.econlib.org/how-to-win-friends-and-influence-people-book-club-part-2/
4. S4 About Us | Dale Carnegie Coaching Franchise. Dale Carnegie Training. https://dalecarnegiefranchise.com/about-our-coaching-franchise/
5. S5 Asking Questions Increases Likability (Huang et al. 2017). Association for Psychological Science. https://www.psychologicalscience.org/news/minds-business/asking-questions-increases-likability.html
6. S6 How many hours does it take to make a friend?. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407518761225

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