Is How to Win Friends and Influence People still relevant?

A nice worthy book, I am re reading for the second time, I really enjoy it. I take off my hat in memory of Dale for the excellent gift given to the world.

Can I offer an "out-of-the-box" advice? (1) Finish reading the book. (2) Try to realize that the only way to learn how to deal with people is to start dealing with different people every single day in any situation possible. You will learn these skills through your own experience. You will never learn it from books. Not that I wanna discourage you or anything. It is just the way people learn things.

I tried this book in my freshman year and I did follow some steps given in that book on a friend of mine. That day was rough, really. But now she is perfect for me! Oh you asked ... Did I answer? Edit: Here is my copy of the book and I love both of them. You know what I mean :-)

The book is short and readable, easily found cheap or in a library.  If you get one good idea out of it, it was worth your investment of time and energy. The concerns in other answers here about sincerity and authenticity are valid.  No "trick" is going to help if people feel it's a trick, if people feel you have a hidden agenda.  There are only two ways I've found to address this; the first is to work at truly caring.  The second is to be as up front as possible about your agenda.  I usually give this second bit of advice in the context of networking while job hunting, so I'll use that as an example to illustrate the point.  The key to networking is to be persistent and thorough .  Every time you meet somebody, as soon as you finish shaking hands, ask the question:  "I'm a programmer/sysadmin/designer/whatever, by the way.  Do you know of anybody who needs a programmer/sysadmin/designer/whatever?  No?  Do you know of anybody who might know somebody who neeeds a programmer/sysadmin/designer/whatever?" Obviously you don't want to seem rushed, and you don't want to seem like that's all you care about and then drop them like a bad habit.  You want to project relaxation so they can feel relaxed and not under pressure.  If they express anything negative about the fact that you asked, just smile, shrug and say "hey, you never know.   So... how 'bout them InsertLocalSportFranchise..." Everybody's been unemployed at some point in their life, and we all understand what it's about.  What we don't like is the discomfort of feeling pressured, of feeling awkward, of feeling like you have a hidden agenda that we have to figure out.  Defuse the tension by being up front about your agenda.

Absolutely. If you find the concept antiquated for some reason, you can couch it in New Age terms. Many of the ideas on Shakti Gawain's '80s book Creative Visualization relate directly to How to Win Friends. I read the latter in high school and it changed my life.

It is good advice.  I wouldn't confuse it with morality.  It is really realpolik.  For a person who is already really good at manipulating other people it won't tell him anything he doesn't already know.  For a person who needs to learn how to influence other people it is a great start.  Just don't take the sanctimonious moralizing very seriously.  This is great advice for politicians and salesmen, but also for people who need to do a little politicking and selling to get their job done.I encountered this book early in my life when I was doing the right thing and my big boss wanted me to back off to pacify a large corporation.  I read the book.  I thought it was good advice, but it wasn't morality.

Do you want to do it as a contest or as intimacy with real friends? Dale Carnegie was a salesman. If you can make the person feel good, they are more likely to buy from you. He later got into the self help business and taught public speaking. "The ideas I stand for are not mine. I borrowed them from Socrates. I swiped them from Chesterfield. I stole them from Jesus. And I put them in a book. If you don't like their rules whose would you use?" His points are still valid. However, there are very few sales people who have intimate relationships or family. Why? The business seems to attract narcissist. People who need a scale to reference their value on. They tend to use people for their goals. One of the most blatant forms of this was the Amway program, later disguised as Quixtar. In 1999 the founders of the Amway corporation established a new holding company, named Alticor, and launched three new companies: a sister (and separate) Internet-focused company named Quixtar, Access Business Group, and Pyxis Innovations. Pyxis, later replaced by Fulton Innovation, pursued research and development and Access Business Group handled manufacturing and logistics for Amway, Quixtar, and third party clients. Wikipedia I have had numerous people over the years read his book to get some hints but it still is realization of self which connects with the power. Outside observers tend to very quickly discover whether you are being yourself or just using others. Narcissists truly believe they are empty at that level and if it is exposed, will be completely humiliated. They must get reassurance over and over they are of value and cover what they believe is truth. Be yourself. That is where the truth lies and your real power is demonstrated. To be yourself typically requires a trip inward, past ones ego. People like others who are genuine and truthful. The more you are yourself, the more people will enjoy your company.

Liked Robert's answer.  I would also add that the way to show interest in someone is to ask them questions.  I've found that I can win a lot of friends and learn a lot about the world by asking people questions about topics they are very interested in.

Yes. In this fast paced, short attention span, gizmo obsessed, distraction fixated world of people, the timeless principles in this book are needed now more than ever.