Life coach reveals ‘platinum rule’

Ever wonder why some acquaintances turn into friends, while others just become vague memories?
Dave Yunghan, a trainer at consulting firm Team Builders Plus, discussed interpersonal relationships yesterday at “Improving Interpersonal Relations: Why We Click with Some and Clank with Others,” sponsored by the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences.
“The hardest part of working [is] dealing with the people,” Yunghan said.
Yunghan has experience training leaders from Fortune 500 companies to become cohesive units by working more productively.
He provided input on interpersonal relationships to a packed room in the Cook Campus Center, advising the crowd not to treat others the way you want to be treated, but to treat people the way that they want to be treated instead. He calls this the Platinum Rule.
By reversing the traditional Golden Rule, our psychology and approach to interpersonal relationships reverses as well, he said.
“You can take control of the situation and become a winner,” Yunghan said.
In order to do this, Yunghan said a person must be able to recognize behavior patterns, which can be divided into four styles: dominance, influence, conscientiousness and steadiness.
This skill can be used to help individuals in their personal, scholastic and professional life, he said.
While the lecture focused on improving professional life, his tips could be applied to a variety of social situations.
“Looking back at my experiences with past bosses, I could’ve used this advice to deal with them better,” said Kate Venner, a Cook College senior. “I learned a lot about myself and how to deal with coworkers [that I can] use in the future.”
Yunghan offered quick tips to the audience.
When speaking with a dominant individual, you should be short and to the point, and when dealing with a steady individual, you should be more patient and understanding, he said.
He noted the Platinum Rule can be crucial in a job interview and could heavily affect the outcome.
With summer jobs and internships quickly approaching, students like Jen Merle, a Cook College senior, took what Yunghan said to heart.
“[His advice] will help me later on because I’ll be able to relate to other people and know how to react in a certain situation,” said Merle. “I will think before I take [something] the wrong way.”