After getting a call center job at my university, I have learned a great deal about the importance of being polite to people. The basic idea of my job is to make the callers think about their old university, and in the process, I would ask if they would be willing to give a donation to help the programs at the university.

I have been raised to treat people with respect and to be kind to them. "Treat others the way you would want to be treated," that saying rings thorough my memory on occasion.

However, there were times where I was tested; many people that picked up the phone were not friendly or polite to me.

The rejections did feel like a slap across the face. It took me some time to not take their snappy responses personally. It would not have done me any good if I let them take me down. I had to develop some courage when I kept calling people.

One day, my boss gave a pep talk to everyone at the office before we started our shift. The main idea being that he told everyone that we should all be polite and kind to our callers. By doing that, we would be creating a positive reputation for our school, and there would a strong possibility that the caller would donate.

Sure, at the end of the day, a donation is nice. But that should not be the main goal.

Usually, people are are very good at identifying tones and intentions from people that they do not not know. By being truly sincere and kind to the people that I talk to over the phone, there is no wrong that I can create.

Of course, if you let your ego get in the way and you respond in a negative way and sound annoyed by the caller, that does spell trouble. On the other hand, you should not be kissing up to people just to get something from them. To me, that is self-defeating and does not make you feel good about yourself or to the person you are talking to.

Killing someone with kindness can be one way to go about negativity. Although, this can easily fall into passive aggressiveness. There is no need to prove that I am the better person simply because I am showing more respect and politeness; it breeds passive aggressiveness and fuels the ego. What can be gained is some character development; in this sense, it would mean that I would have the purest intentions.

To expect nothing in return can be hard to accept, but really, what is the harm?

Realistically speaking, there are some crab apples out there, and you don't have to deal with them. You can literally turn around and ignore them. There will be times when we have to face those types of people, and we will want to kill them with kindness.

Being patient, self-aware, respectful and lastly kindness will go a long way for you. Being kind to everybody will make you stand out in a positive way and make you likable. In my experience, it's not that easy to implement, but it is a learning experience.