HowToBePopular
ByJustinBecker
Weallwishedwewerepopularbackinhighschool,whenthemostpopularguysweretheoneswiththecoolestjeans,carsormotorcycles.Theyneverdidtheirownhomework,wereonthefootballteam,andalwaysgotthegirlswhowerecrownedhomecomingqueen.
Bythetimewe'reprofessionals,thepopularguysaretheoneswhoareambitious,intelligentandconfident.Theyhaveacircleoffriendsthey'reproudof,andhavegoodreputations.
who'stheman?
Thedefinitionofpopularitymayhavechanged,butthecharacteristicsofapopularmanremainthesame.
Popularmenarecharismatic,sociallyaccepted(evenifsomeonedoesn'tlikethem,theydon'tdwellonit),andhaveamagneticappealthatdrawsotherstothem.
Ifyouweretodescribethemostpopularmanyouknow,youwouldsaythat"womenwanttobewithhim,andmenwanttobehim."
Wantthatdescriptionforyourself?You'lljusthavetodevelopcertaintraitsandattitudes.
...you'llbetheman
Becomfortable
Youdon'tneedtobethemostconfidentguyattheofficeorinyourbuilding,butyoudoneedtobecomfortablewithwhoyouare,howyoulook,andwhateveractionsyoudecideon.Whenyou'recomfortableinyourownskin,you'llknowhowtoreactingivensituations,andyou'llinteractwithotherseasily.
Beproactive
Thepopularpersondoesn'tsitbythesidelinestowatchtheparadegoby--andevenifhedoes,it'sbecauseheknowswhentojumpinatappropriatemoments.Soifyoustartanewjoborrelocatedtoanewcity,it'suptoyoutointroduceyourselftoothersandbreaktheice.
Ifyou'rethepopularguy,youwon'tletyourselfbecomethenamelessfacebehindthecubiclewall.Don'tbetheguywithanicknameforeveryoneeither;does"Rob.Roberinoo.Makingcopies"soundfamiliar?
Beagoodconversationalist
Ifyou'recomfortablewithyourself,you'llsurelyknowhowtostartconversationswithstrangersandacquaintances.You'llneedtohavepersonableskills,includingmakingsmalltalkwithpeopleyoumeet,evenforthefirsttime.
Youknowthoseguyswhosquirmwheneverthere'sanuncomfortablesilence?Someonewho'scomfortablewithhimselfwillknowhowtomakethebestofthosesilentmoments,whethertoreflectforafewseconds,orcrackawittyjoke.
Befunny
Havingagoodsenseofhumorandtheabilitytobegenuinelyfunnycanbeinnate,butitcanalsobeanacquiredskill.Remember,youwantpeopletolaughwithyou,notatyou.
Butyoutoocanlearntobefunny.Juststayup-to-datewithpopculture,watchsitcomsorcomediansregularly,andlearnhowtomastertheartofbeingtactful.
Learnpropertiming
You'renotapplyingtobeastand-upcomedian,buttimingisanimportantpartofbeingawell-likedguy.Apopularguyknowswhenit'stimetotalkorshutup,actorsitstill.
Staypositiveandsmile
Apicturemaysayathousandwords,butasmilesaysamillion.Partofhavingalotoffriendsandamagneticappealthatbothmenandwomensense,includesbeinganoptimisticperson.
Mostofthesocialproblemsthatpeoplehavestemfromnotbeingsatisfiedandproudofwhotheyare.There'snoneedtobearrogant,butifyouradiateprideandconfidence,it'llbeobviousthatyouhavesomethingtoofferothers.
Andyes,it'simportanttobemysteriousinthedatinggame,butbeingintriguingisnotthesameasbeingamisery(tooserious,thatis).
Lookgoodandwell-groomed
Soyoulookgoodontheinside,butthat'snotenough.Youneedtolookgreatontheoutsidetoo,andalwaysbeproperlygroomed.Thisentailswearingyourhairinaflatteringstyle,projectingafashionableimage,smellinggood,andnotbeingafraidtotryoutanewtrend.Whileit'simportanttobefashionable,thekeyisfollowingyourownstyle,andwearingwhatyouthinksuitsyoubest.
Haveanopinion
Partofbeingpopularisbeingaleaderratherthanafollower;havingyourownopinionandstickingtoyourbeliefs--andhavingtheconfidencetodoso.
Staycool
Someareborncool;somewillneverbecool.Thefrustratingpartaboutcoolnessisthatyoucan'tdefineit,butyoucanrecognizeitfrommilesaway.Youknowthemanwhoseemsunphrasedbyeverything,yetissensitiveenoughtocare?Well,heexudesthatcoolnessmostmenstrivefor.
Nevertrytoohard
Thatcoolnessishardtoachieve,butonceyoutrytoohard,youlosetheabilitytobecool.Popularpeopledon'ttrytobecool;whatevertheydojustoozescoolness,whetherthey'restandingbythebarchuggingabeeralone,orsurroundedbyagrouponthedancefloor.Ithasmoretodowiththeirdemeanorandattitude.
beyou,withatwist
Inordertoachievepopularity,you'llneedtoworkonyourself;firstandforemostyoumustlocateyourself-confidence,improveitifit'slowornon-existent,andthenworkonyoursocialskills.
Soonyou'llhavetolearnhowtobalanceyoursociallifewithyourfamilyandjob.Butstaycalm,coolandcollected,it'llallfallintoplace.
