Ted

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  1. 2006 Photo Retrospective: Provincetown
  2. The D-List Forums :: Kathy LARRY KING LIVE Dec-5-2006 UPLOADED ON YOUTUBE
  3. Amazon.com: Profile for Andrew Towle
  4. Now Reading (December): The Art of Talking to Anyone
  5. 2006 Photo Retrospective: Capital Pride
  6. Now Reading (December): Tough Choices by Carly Fiorina
  7. Seattle tops DC (in Real Estate)
  8. 2006 Photo Retrospective: Seattle
  9. New York Times review settles the claim that Vista did NOT copy Mac OS X
  10. 2006 Photo Retrospective: Chicago
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02 Dec 2006Now Reading

Now Reading (December): The Art of Talking to Anyone

My friend Chris turned me on to the concept of this book initially, which made me wonder what I could learn about the topic. I gave it a whirl anyway.

I think this book falls in the category of owners’ manuals for how to be an adult, and there’s nothing wrong with reading those once in a while. After all, how often does someone actually sit you down and counsel you on how to be one? We often learn by our last intense experience doing something well or not so well, and that’s not really the best way to learn things (all the time).

It was a quick read, and yes, I did learn something. I was a little taken aback that some of the things suggested as topics/approaches to avoid, especially in the workplace, and, well, I don’t typically avoid them. I’m not talking about off-color jokes or sexist comments. Things like genuine comments of appreciation in every conversation.

There are also some practical tips, like holding a drink at an event in your left hand rather than your right so that you don’t shake hands with a wet, cold hand. Or keeping your drink no more than a quarter full so that you can always end a conversation by telling someone that you need a refill. There are a bunch of other little tidbits in there. There’s also a nice section on how to be liked - and yes, at our tender ages, we probably have a good sense of how to be liked or not. This is like dressing on the salad, it just makes it taste better.

I have to share one tip for dealing with not knowing someone’s name that I really liked: “Tell me you once forgot the name of a very nice person.”

Isn’t one of the greatest things about Life the fact that we get to know some very nice people?


Popularity: 6%
David - 03 Dec - 3:34 pm,

Sounds like an interesting book, however, if you can’t end a conversation without having to feign the need for a drink refill you have bigger problems.

Ted - 03 Dec - 6:26 pm,

I think there are some social customs that we generally agree to as part of the way we get by in the world. For example, “Hi, how are you?” is really a greeting and not a request for information.

Same thing with starting and stopping a conversation. It’s generally not customary to say, “I’d like to stop talking to you right now.”

There are things we do that keep the social wheels turning without causing grief.

I’d say this is especially an issue in the Pacific Northwest, where niceness is elevated to an art form.

David - 03 Dec - 9:11 pm,

This must be why I get so drunk at parties!

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