Good morning!
Welcome to Part II of Dealing with People, the article that will help you become the legal secretary that everyone loves, not hates. Check out the rest of the article below. And if you missed the first part, you can find it here.
“Dealing With People (Part II)
To be able to do all this, the Legal Secretary must be expert at personal relations. Now a great deal has been written about the art of handling people. Psychologists, authors, homespun philosophers and ‘business experts’ of varying intelligence and ability have told the world how to make ‘friends’, conciliate enemies and develop an irresistible personality. Their copious advice can usually be reduced to one central principle: namely that any human being is somewhat egotistical and likes to feel important. Therefore, he likes the sound of his own name; he likes to be reminded of his success and good points; he likes to be remembered and to feel that people have affection for him; he likes compliments, provided they are not too obviously flattering; and he likes to think that his ideas and suggestions receive serious attention. He does not like to remember his failures; he does not like to admit he’s wrong or to give up an untenable position in argument, unless there is a graceful ‘out’; he dislikes cleverness in others and fears sarcasm; he is jealous of success; and he does not like to be forgotten. All of this is, of course, very true, as the Legal Secretary who understands anything of human nature is well aware; and you must also know how to make use of your knowledge. However, a human being is more than a self-centered, jealous child and there is a limit to the use that can be made of methods for handling people which are based largely on flattery, facile enthusiasm and general heartiness. Sincerity, courtesy and unforced human interest—natural rather than artificial qualities—are more important in adult human relations.
Another important consideration is that all individuals are different. They do not conform to type—‘rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief’—or some more complicated set of categories. Each has his own quirks and idiosyncrasies. The methods that work with one will not necessarily work with another. The good Legal Secretary is a student of individual human nature and learns more than names and faces and occupations. You discover the things that please and displease the people with whom you come into contact; you come to know their strong and weak points. Above all, you study the personality of your employer with a concentrated interest. His or her habits in giving dictation, attitude towards salesmen, tendencies to hurry through certain matters and linger over others are all matters of importance. You discover the extent to which you are desired to make changes in documents or organize files. This study is for the most part a silent one, conducted by observation rather than questions; yet it is of vital importance, for it enables you, as the Legal Secretary, to handle work in the way your employer would like to see it handled, and by adjusting your personality, to serve your employer most satisfactorily.”
Contact me if your office needs legal training. Happy hump day!