Why no-one listens to Rob McJ

I say!

Looking at the Duneditin snaps reminded me of a conversation I had with Rob McJ, one of the other invited ‘A’ List bloggers. The conversation took place in the interval before the start of the “Ralwin’s Third Postulate” session, and it went something like this.

RMcJ “Mingin, No one listens to me”

MM III “That’s unfortunate. Have you analysed why that should be?”

RMcJ “Yes, I…”

MM III “For example, the very first thing you must do, if you want someone to listen to you, is obviously have something to say. If you don’t have anything to say, then it all becomes rather difficult.”

RMcJ “Well, I…”

MM III “And whilst we’re on the subject, the thing that you say must be interesting. No-one will listen to you if what you say is not interesting.”

RMcJ “Yes, but…”

MM III “Possibly more important than having something interesting to say is that you need to look for the right opportunity to say it. If the person who you want to say something to is otherwise occupied, then there’s little chance that they will listen to you.”

RMcJ “Quite. But…”

MM III “Another thing you must watch out for is to never, for example, mention ‘bliss’ to Hotters. If you mention ‘bliss’ to Hotters, then he’s likely to start one of his four-hour monologues, and you’ll never get a word in edgeways.”

RMcJ “I…”

MM III “This is a very interesting conversation. I’m glad you brought it up. Another piece of advice I would offer is to always make the topic of conversation something to do with the person you’re talking to. If you do that, then you’ll almost certainly get their attention.”

RMcJ “But if…”

MM III “Whatever you do, don’t go on at length about, for example, birding, if the person you’re trying to talk to has no interest in ornithology.”

RMcJ “Exactly”

MM III “Or trainspotting.”

RMcJ “Trainspotting?”

MM III “Yes. That’s a real turn-off for most people. Not the book…the hobby”

RMcJ “How about…”

MM III “Also, don’t ever mention the Beach Boys to Brian Wilson. The result of that is almost as bad as mentioning ‘bliss’ to Hotters.”

RMcJ “What do you think…”

MM III “Ah look! The Ralwin Postulate session is starting. Listen, it’s been great hearing all your views. Maybe we can continue this discussion at the tea interval.”

MM III