Sharon Draper Quotes

I was a bartender for four years, and that was the best training that I had for learning how to approach people.

It was easy for me in my bathrobe to provide really great customer service. As an introvert, it's really much easier to do than when standing in a retail store.

Most of us have jobs that require some handling of other peoples' feelings and our own, and in that sense, we are all partly flight attendants.

I'd hate to have a job where I had to be rude to people.

I really believe waiting tables, and service industry jobs in general, make you a better person.

I had a great time being a salesman because of the pitches that I gave when I was selling shoes. However, I don't think I'm as well versed in shoes as I am in comedy. Being a salesman was all about being a people person, and I enjoy being around people. I also love talking to people - which is why I think I did so well.

I was not a great bartender, but I did OK. I wasn't great at being efficient behind the bar, but I was pretty great at talking to people. I was a pretty good waiter. It was painstaking to get me to care about the clientele of some of these places I was working at.

I was a lousy waiter, dealing with people and having people in your face like that.

Last, in restaurants you spend a lot of time dealing with people who are very unhappy. Soup has been spilled on their laps, they've waited 10 minutes to get their check so they can leave, and you learn how to listen, I think, in a much more proactive way than government does.

In most job interviews, people say they are looking for people skills and emotional intelligence. That's reasonable, but the question is, how do you define what that looks like?

I think growing up in a big family taught me a lot of problem solving and how to share and compromise, and that's been helpful in my marriage.

I'm a problem solver. I love people. The more complicated they are, the more I get into them, and I just want to understand what makes them tick.

I'd like to think my strengths are in connecting with people and the relationship aspect of this business.

Empathetic people are superb at recognizing and meeting the needs of clients, customers, or subordinates. They seem approachable, wanting to hear what people have to say. They listen carefully, picking up on what people are truly concerned about, and respond on the mark.

You can tell a lot about a person by the way they treat waiters and shop assistants, especially when you are one.

If I don't have any other strength, I'm pretty good at building relationships.

Negotiation is empathy. It's almost trite to say that if you can't put yourself in the seat of the other person you're speaking with, you're not going to do well. It's not about being a bully, not about making offers people can't refuse.

What I like to do is have an opportunity to talk with people in neighborhoods and answer their questions one-on-one. I think it's one of the places I have greatest strength.

I think one of the things I really learned in Denver is the value of being a good listener.

Being a salesperson prepares you for just about everything in business: how to listen, empathize, and persuade; when to back off and when to step in; and, of course, how to close.

Anyone who's been an usher knows it's a training in resilience. But you get such a film education. And the popcorn's free.

I definitely learned a lot about how to be more communicative with my crews.

I think I am a pretty good at understanding each character of each person I meet.

Having the ability to relate to people is such an important part of management and leadership.

I think one of my strengths is kind of knowing people and getting a good read and a feel for what that person's strengths might be.