“For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.” ~Audrey Hepburn (British Actress & Humanitarian, 1929-1993)
Audrey Hepburn is one of my favorite actresses, so I was excited when I found this quote. For me it says a great deal about building trust, which is certainly something you need when developing relationships.
Whether you are looking at it from a professional or personal point of view, one must build trust with another person before you can have a relationship…at least a positive, healthy relationship. If you follow what Ms. Hepburn says above, you are well on your way to building that trust and a strong relationship.
Being negative around someone all of the time and continually pointing out his or her faults gets very old for the person on the receiving end. Why would he or she want to work with or do business with you? In fact, why would that person even want to be around you at all?
People like to hear about what they do right, not be reminded of what they do wrong. If it is necessary to correct someone, do it constructively so they can learn from their mistake, not feel rejected or dejected by it.
Besides being negative, bad mouthing someone, especially behind her or his back, is another way to derail a relationship. If you don’t believe me, say bad things about a person…it almost always gets back to him or her, no matter who you say it to. Then see how long your relationship lasts with that individual. Not long I can assure you.
Remember the old adage, “if you can’t say something nice about someone, keep your mouth shut”. Well, that’s my version of it anyway. If you want a working or personal relationship with people, look for the good in them and say kind things to and about them. Not only will it help develop a positive ground from which to build, but it will make you feel good too.