5 Timeless Formatting Hacks From the Book “How To Win Friends and Influence People”
A writer doesn’t hope or wish. A writer decides.
Let’s be clear:
“How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie is eighty-six years old. Every wisdom aspect aside, this book is a doorway to writing better.
Every non-fiction book falls into two categories:
- Short span
- Timeless
For Carnegie’s book to become a masterpiece, he had to go the extra mile. Timeless means that even when an author dies, the book doesn’t stop selling and giving advice to people.
Some timeless authors are
- Shakespeare
- Leo Tolstoy
- Napolean, and
- Dale Carnegie
Aside from what Carnegie wrote in his books, the actual game is how he displayed the words.
For that, I hereby announce 5 formatting and timeless hacks from Dale Carnegie.
Let's get started.
1. Use (numbers) in titles
“How to Win Friends and Influence People” has a total of 1–12 chapters in the book.
But reading it never made me feel “it’s too much” or “I’d die reading.”
There’s a simple twist to this.
Dale Carnegie divided his book into chunky parts, making it easy to read. However, most book range from 200+ pages, but Dale’s book was always easy to complete.
The first tip is:
- Use numbers in the title
For example, you want to make a heading:
“Five ways to write better and effectively”
Or “Ways to write better and effectively.”
The latter seems more troublesome than the former. Most people prefer sticking with the first title — the one with numbers.
Why? Because we don’t want to spend time reading an article without *disclosure.*
Takeaway
Readers don’t like traps (Speaking from experience). Titles should, however, contain numbers.
You can use titles in both ways:
- “Five ways to write better and effectively”
Or,
- “5 ways to write better and effectively”
2. Enclose your title in a message
As a result of Dale Carnegie’s book, I learned a clever way to surprise my readers.
The first few sub-chapters of “HTWFIP” gave me mini heart attacks. The headings were:
- “If you want to gather honey, don’t kick over the beehive.”
- “The big secret in dealing with people”
- “When nothing else works, try this”
- “You can’t win an argument”
Reading these subtitles, I was frustrated.
I wanted more. I whispered, “I am not playing this game with you, Dale. Watch me now.”
“I rushed back into the preface portion, where every chapter and subchapter was listed with page numbers. I got frustrated when I saw the preface had the same titles. I simply wanted more. Was I asking too much? Tell me.”
But Dale won’t. Every subheading starts with a confusing statement we can only cover by reading.
Takeaway
It’s like Dale gives us a challenge to complete. I believe this is a great writing strategy.
Make readers anxious.
3. Give enough white space
Where fonts and word size fails to make an impact, white space does.
To implement white space:
- Make small paragraphs
- Occasionally add listicles
- Add examples
Examples (Elaborated)
Add an email, maybe a letter, or a conversation in inverted commas.
It catches the reader’s attention in a second.
Using white space is easy. Buy by adding paragraphs, listicles, and examples, you can easily make white space.
Takeaway
But what is white space?
Here’s an example:
- Would you like a one-color shirt to wear in the office?
- Or a shirt printed with abstract shapes?
If your answer is the first one, we understand each other, my friend.
4. Repeat the principle at the end
All of Carnegie’s book represents this method:
- Make a clear title
- Never make a clear subtitle
Dale’s subtitles are enclosed as a message — something you can’t decode until you read it. And when you start reading it, Dale catches you by surprise.
To make it simpler, Dale encloses the principle at the end of each chapter — but only — at the end.
It’s like: “thank you for reading the chapter. Here is the principle.”
Here’s what I mostly did:
- Reading the subheading, I was always furious, like I was challenged to a duel.
- It didn’t seem fair to turn pages and read principles in the end.
So, I used to read the subchapters fastly.
It was like a roller coaster experience. I completed the book in 1 week.
This one of Dale’s methods sparked my addiction: making (un)clear subheadings.
Takeaway
Close the real crux of the subheading in the end. Make sure to use different words.
5. Use simpler words
Bonus tip: set a reminder
The first few pages of the book were utter young.
Like I just wanted to get to the creamy bottom part of the donut, but Dale wasn’t letting me.
In the first chapter of this book “Nine suggestions to get most out of this book” Dale wrote:
“After reading it thoroughly, you ought to spend a few hours revising it every month.”
And also,
“Read each chapter twice before going on to the next one.”
Takeaway
Reading this, I was furious again. Honestly, it brainwashes us when anyone tells you this is the best book ever. It’s impossible to capture everything at once.
Dale gave a sweet ultimatum. But it worked!
Final thoughts
With every passing chapter, I got frightened to forget anything and re-read it multiple times.
Bonus, my friend, includes a sweet disclaimer — a kind of disclaimer that would benefit your book.
I’ve also applied every principle in this book thoroughly. If you’ve read it completely, you know the principles well.
Join 1,100+ writers and get your next writing inspiration right now.
Or join Medium with my referral link.
