People skills in "soft skills" and interpersonal skills of employees. In organizations, improving people skills became a specialized role of the corporate trainer. By the mid-1930s, Dale Carnegie popularized people skills in "How to Win Friends and Influence People" and "How to Stop Worrying and Start Living" worldwide. In the 1960s, US schools introduced people-skills topics and methods—often as a way to promote better self-esteem, communication and social interaction. These encompassed psychologist Thomas Gordon's "Effectiveness Training" variations as well as many other training programs. The first documented use of the phrase "people skills" was around 1970. The SCANS report states that business,
How to Win Friends and Influence People 1936, the book reached the "New York Times" best-seller list by the end of the year, and did not fall off for the next two years. Simon & Schuster continued to advertise the book relying heavily on testimonials as well as the testable approach the book offered. Carnegie had created a new kind of book, one that was not read with passive interest, but rather a manual of active participation. "How to Win Friends and Influence People" became one of the most successful books in American history. It went through 17 print editions in its first year of publishing and