my four size-ten, red-and-chartreuse, soft, odorless widgets, they tastefully
ask my credit card number.
Other companies have first grilled me on the number, the expiration
date, my customer number (which I can never find on the back of the
catalogue), and how often Ive ordered from them in the past before I even
get to fantasize about the wonderful widget I might want to buy from them.
Takes all the joy out of the purchase and sometimes kills the sale.
Top communicators do more than just let you babble on. They use the
next technique while youre in the process of dribling down.
How to Turn Their Anger Around (in Three Sentences or Less)
Emo is a word invented by Helen Gurley Brown, the grand dame of
Cosmopolitan magazine. Emo translated is Give more emotion! Once
Cosmopolitan asked me to write an article on communicaing sensitive
matters (most specifically advising young women on how to make their
boyfriends more passionate). I interviewed a passel of psychologists,
communications experts, and sexologists. My draft came back from Cosmo
all marked up with MORE EMO scribbled on every page.
I called my editor and asked what it meant. She said that was Helens
way of saying downplay all that factual stuff with the sex therapists and so-
called experts. Write about the emotion the young woman feels when her
boyfriend isnt passionate enough, the emtion the accused male feels when
confronted, and the emotion the couple feels about discussing their
quandary. Helen Gurley Brown, a certified big winner, liked to have it all
and knew just how to get it. Helen recognized, when the time is right, reject
the rational and empathize with the emotions. In other words, smear on the
emo.
Oh, No! He Must Have Been Mortified!
L.L. Bean recently smeared emo all over me. Several months ago, my
friend Phil wanted to buy some trousers and asked for a rec322
How to Turn Their Anger Around (in Three Sentences or Less) 323
ommendation. I dragged him to my closet to show him the quaity and
construction of the L.L. Bean clothes. That convinced him, and Phil ordered
a pair of navy-blue dress trousers.
Phil wore his brand new L.L. Bean pants for the first time on a big date
with a new girlfriend at an elegant restaurant. While following the ma”tre d
to the cozy corner booth which hed requested, his date happened to drop her
ooja
(Ooja)
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