Dale Carnegie Course

When I first started looking at communication and leadership programs the Dale Carnegie course came up frequently. I eventually settled for the Toastmasters program as it was a not-for-profit organization. But I always kept wondering about the Dale Carnegie course and why it seemed so popular. So I started looking into it again, and here is what I found.

The Dale Carnegie organization is actually offering quite a wide variety of courses. From the Effective Communications & Human Relations Course (the one I was initially interested in), to World Class Customer Service course. And a whole lot in between.

And there are the one-, two- and three day seminars. As well as workshops which are seminars packed into smaller chunks to be suitable for a morning or afternoon session. These are offered at much reduced prices and a lot of them are free.

The most well known Dale Carnegie course are the Effective Communications & Human Relations course. Let's look at that one in a bit more detail.

Effective Communications & Human Relations course

Price: London - £2,250; New York - $1,795 (check their website to find a Dale Carnegie course near you).

Duration: 12 sessions, either weekly or fortnightly, for 3.5 hours a session.

Course contents & modules:

Build a Foundation for Success; Recall and Use Names
Build on Our Memory Skills & Enhance Relationships; Increase Our Self-Confidence
Put Enthusiasm to Work; Recognize Achievements
Put Stress in Perspective; Motivate Others and Enhance Relationships
Energize Our Communications; Unleash Our Full Potential
Make Our Ideas Clear; Think on Our Feet
Gain the Willing Cooperation of Others; Commit to Influence Others
Build Others through Recognition; Realize the Power of Enthusiasm
Demonstrate Leadership; Develop More Flexibility
Disagree Agreeably; Manage our Stress
Be a Human Relations Champion; Inspire Others
Celebrate Success & Renew Our Vision

Dale Carnegie course reviews

Positive comments

"The Carnegie course is like anything else - what you get out depends on what you put in. If you attend and then forget about it, it won't help you. If you attend, study the material, commit to it, and work on it, who knows where you can go."

Eric Napier.

"The biggest bonus was that I had an increased confidence to interact with authority figures at work, which I had come to find out was holding me back."

Bob Dickson.

"Overall, I thought it was very good, and a number of "working" projects were implemented with some success for our organization."

Rob Nix.

Negative comments

"The downside is that DC is really tailored toward making ONE individual be the power in an organization - it is rather counterproductive to try to use many of the DC techniques and strategies when everyone else recognizes the attempt at "managing" them.

Another downside is often the lack of feedback or evaluation of how well the student really applies the technique and how effective it really is for a given audience."

Wes Bucey.

"12 Weeks and hated every minute of it. Not value added at all. I felt like I was in a confessional or head doctors office. Everyone in the class had some form of personal problem. Many of the participants were required to attend as an attitude adjustment for anger management problems. Also full of the "little old lady in tennis shoes" types. Complete waste of time!"

Paul Clinton.

So is it worth it?

That will depend on your expectations and what you are willing to put into it. It will also depend on the quality of the instructor as not all instructors are created equal. See if you can find out who is will be teaching your course and find references for that person.

The one big reason I would seriously consider attending a Dale Carnegie course is to meet and network with the 'movers & shakers' that attend. Though if you land with a bad group it might ruin the whole experience for you.

Personally, I'd rather just reread my copy of 'How to Win Friends and Influence People' by Dale Carnegie (affiliate link) and continue going to Toastmasters. In this way, I'm getting the tips from the man himself. And I'll be getting my communication- and leadership practice surrounded by individuals who volunteered their time and is not motivated financially.