Sunday, January 31, 2010

Conversational Etiquette

- Everybody has certain topics that they are experts in, certain topics in which they are semi-aversed, but not experts per se, and certain topics to which they are clueless.
- Know your role in each and every conversation, and speak up appropriately. When you are the expert, speak up, speak often, and show your full dominance and grasp of this subject. Enlighten the clueless folks, and help them get to the land of the semi-aversed.
- When you are semi-aversed, speak up only at opportune times, supporting the dominant party's statements, or challenging them if appropriate, and you have evidence/ideas to support your challenge. Don't steal the spotlight, but also don't be afraid to speak up and let your voice be heard.
- When you are clueless, ask questions, and plenty of them. The dominating force in the conversation will have no problem, and will probably enjoy answering them, and you will acquire much needed knowledge. In short, everybody wins.
- NO MATTER WHAT: NEVER EVER IN 10 million years act like Mr./Mrs. Know-it-all about a subject that you are clueless about. This happens very frequently to me when guys who don't know shit about sports/poker/how to epic fail with the ladies, try and act like an expert around me, and I see right through their bullshit. Their transparency and lack of knowledge is painfully obvious, and I just want to end the conversation right there. Not going to lie, it causes me to lose a lot of respect for them.

No comments:

Post a Comment