|
|
|
|
|
|
|
what another person has said grinds on people's nerves. Either add something new to the topic, ask a question to get the other person to elaborate, or move on out to the open road on another topic. The idea is to keep a steady pace for as long as possible with both of you sharing driving duties. Unless you're discussing something that seems to be vitally important to the other person, change the subject every five minutes. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tip 231: To share the topic, change the pace. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
To introduce surprise or arouse curiosity, change the pace of the discussion in one of three ways: louder or softer volume, faster or slower speech, more or less emotion. If the group is leisurely winding down on a topic, rush in with a fast line that shows upset at what happened to you the day before. If the group is moving along at a good clip, overlapping each other's lines, and running away with wit, take a deep breath and make a drawn-out, slow-paced, intense, provocative statement. If they are intensely serious, toss out a one-liner to generate a laugh. Any change of delivery gets attention. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tip 232: Add description as elaboration. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Consider facts the skeleton of your conversation. Put flesh on the bones with elaboration. Set the scene. Paint pictures. Explain why. Don't just say, "Stephen is a funny character." Why is he interesting? When? Doing what? Saying what? Deciding what? Let us see Stephen in motion and come to our own conclusion. Don't just say, "The project is going to open new doors for us." Where? When? Why? How? With whom? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tip 233: Make your aim to entertain. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
By entertain, I don't necessarily mean a song-and-dance routine or even amusing stories or witty one-liners. Entertaining has a broader meaningmaking people enjoy themselves. Entertainment includes enlightening them on a subject of interest, letting them enlighten you on a subject, giving new information, exchanging different views on an issue, or meeting new people with unusual experiences and opinions. Entertainment rarely includes a lecture or debate; both tend to make people increasingly uncomfortable. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tip 234: Work on witty remarks. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
To be effective, witty lines must be prompt and clever. You can have a stock of ready-made ones for various occasions, or you can develop them on the |
|
|
|
|
|