Some well-meaning person recommended Dale Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People" to me when I was kid. I read it in only that way that precocious pre-mature children can, which is to say completely literally.
Under the heading "Six Ways to Make People Like You", Dale gives us this pearl of wisdom:
Remember that a man's Name is to him the sweetest and most important sound in any language.
You might imagine what happened next. Every conversation I had with Paul, I would make sure that I dropped his name, Paul, as often as possible because you know, Paul, I want to be your friend. Paul. Yes. Your friend, Paul.
Within two weeks all my mates were no longer. Acquaintances ran. I ate lunch alone, and even my parents began taking their meals at times and places without my presence. Figuring this was all part of the way Dale's magic worked, I kept up my creepy use of names even though by now I was talking exclusively to myself. That probably didn't help.
Eventually I grew bored with being alone, and so dropped the mid-sentence use of the name of the person to whom I was talking, and my life gradually drifted back to normal. Although Mr Carnegie had some good advice, I learned that manipulating people by communication is not that easy. Dear reader.
Photograph from here. [link]
No comments:
Post a Comment