9 Steps to Become More Interesting
1. Listen more than you talk.2. If you notice yourself getting bored with what you're saying, stop talking. Acknowledge the situation. Smile. Move on.
3. Know a few historical anecdotes. Like this one: To enhance creativity, surrealist painter Salvador Dalí recommended afternoon naps lasting less than a second. He would lie in his chair, arms outstretched, holding a metal key in his left hand. As he drifted off to sleep, his grip would relax and the key would fall, clanging onto a plate he'd set beneath it and waking him up.
4. But realize that no one likes the guy who knows something about everything.
5. Let people talk over you. Don't think of it as being rude; think of it as an assist.
6. If someone does interrupt you, wait to be prompted before continuing your story. It's a good sign that someone cared in the first place.
7. Drawn-out pauses are the best time for personal non sequitors. People would rather listen to you talk about yourself than nothing.
8. With people you don't know, limit stories to the last five minutes of your life — the turnout, the Scotch selection, the homeless man you mistakenly took for a valet.
9. Never mention your blog.
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Well then.
I like the 5 minute rule -- it's a good, safe one. I mean, you've just met me, do you want to hear about my gall bladder surgery?
ReplyDeleteDon't mention your blog, but it is permissible to ask what their favorite blog is...they maybe roll the conversation around to your blog if the timing is right....hehehe
Tara, someone we both know well used to "entertain" customers with a detailed description of how her bowel was glued to her bladder. While serving them soup. Oh, and then there was the recounting of the diarrhea bout of the week....
ReplyDeleteEeewwww. I had to pull her aside and explain that it wasn't appropriate.
Earlier this week I having a long lunch with a group of people, every single one of whom violated every one of these rules.
ReplyDeleteEach one of them used to and expecting deference and hanging upon their every word with breathless gratitude and attention by everyone else. None of them spending enough time out of their comfort zones in which they are the Top Dawgs.
It was exhausting. Also, nothing of any interest got said by any of them since they all interrupted and none of them would listen to anyone else.
Love, C.
It really was the longest lunch I maybe ever had in my life.
ReplyDeleteLove, C.
Foxessa, sorry you had to endure that!
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ReplyDeleteGood heavens if someone "pulled me aside" to complain about something I'd said I'd punch them in the neck. Not much worry for that as I let my blog do the talking these days. People are much too predictable in real life.
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