1. Forget about Hogging Attention

People love it when they feel cared for and important. That’s why so many of us are programmed to ‘want’ attention.

The irony is that the more you try to hog attention for You Find ZMOT yourself, the more off-putting you become.

Conversely, you become more likable as you give people the time, space and attention to share who they are and what’s important to them.

Think back to a time when you’ve had some of the best conversations with some of the most remarkable and charming people in your life – weren’t they the ones who gave you the space and time to speak your mind, talk about your day and how you felt? Weren’t they also the ones who picked up on what you said and related back to it? I’m guessing that you were probably the one who did most of the talking, and they did most of the listening.

Being likable doesn’t really require lots of work, really. Sometimes, it’s as easy as reversing the role of the speaker and listener.

2. Forget about Pleasing Everybody

“I’ve learned that it’s not our job to You Find ZMOT make other people happy” – Steve Harvey, American Comedian and

Truly likable people are comfortable with who they are. They are relaxed and comfortable in their own skin, their strengths and weaknesses.

They recognize that no matter how hard they try, they will never be perfect, and they’re comfortable being vulnerable and being real.

Brene Brown, a psychologist and researcher who studied and wrote extensively on the topic of being vulnerable and authenticity, shares that learning about and being able to accept our vulnerabilities actually helps strengthen our personal identities, but also the way we relate and connect with people.

Whilst being “real” may not help you win everybody over, it will certainly help you win over the people who matter – and I, and I believe like many others, have learned through experience that being authentic and sincere is a big draw when it comes to likability as a person.

3. Forget about Where You ‘Should’ Be At and Focus on Where You Are At

The Dalai Lama once shared that people have a tendency to think about work, when they are at pleasure, and think about pleasure when they are at work.

The result is that the person finds neither satisfaction You Find ZMOT nor happiness when they are at work or at play.

Our inability to be present affects our internal balance, without which we are unable to experience peace of mind and joy.

Being constantly distracted also affects our ability to pay due attention to the people we are with, and prevents you from fully and freely expressing who you are.

Being present – being in the moment – provides you with an immense advantage when it comes to connecting and relating to people, and we will do well not to squander that opportunity.

4. Forget about How Much Money You’ve Got

The worth and dignity of a person transcends beyond the the amount of money they have in their wallet.

Yet, there are people in the world who appear to measure the worth of a person by the amount of money they have.

If you’ve seen this social experiment, you’d probably agree on who the dirt bags are – and there’s a fair chance they’re not very likeable with the average person either.

The irony of the matter is that to those who judge others based on how much money they have, they too will be judged by others (and themselves even) when they come across a richer person like them.

Truly likable people do not measure the worth of a person based on money – they relate to the common man or woman and see money as a tool to get things done.