you awakened the captain at midnight last week for the dramatic midnight
rescue?
By then it was time to go back to extract the ships doctor from the first
bevy and take him to his next pack of passengers. It worked even better the
second time. He happily commenced his Encore! for the second audience.
As he chatted away, I raced back to the captain to pull him away for a
second telling with another throng. I felt like the circus juggler who keeps
all the plates spinning on sticks. Just as I got one conversation spinning, I
had to race back to the first speaker to give him a whirl at another audience.
The captains cocktail parties were a breeze for me for the rest of the
season. The three officers loved telling the same story of their heroism to
new people every cruise. The only problem was I noticed the stories getting
longer and more elaborate each time. I had to adjust my timing in getting
them to do a repeat perfomance for the next audience.
How to Get Em Happily Chatting (So You Can Slip Away if You Want
To!) 85
Play It Again, Sam
Encore! is what appreciative audiences chant when they want another
song from the singer, another dance from the dancer, another poem from the
poet, and in my case, another storytelling from the officers. Encore! is the
technique you can use to request a repeat story from a prospect, potential
employer, or valued acquaintance. While the two of you are chatting with a
group of people, simply turn to him and say, John, I bet everyone would
love to hear about the time you caught that thirty-pound striped bass. Or,
Susan, tell everyone that story you just told me of how you rescued the
kitten from the tree. He or she will, of course, demure. Insist! Your
conversation partner is secretly loving it. The subtext of your request is
That story of yours was so terrific, I want my other friends to hear it. After
all, only crowd pleasers are asked to do an Encore!
Technique #21
Encore!
The sweetest sound a performer can hear welling up out of the applause
is Encore! Encore! Lets hear it again! The sweetest sound your conversation
partner can hear from your lips when youre talking with a group of people
is Tell them about the time you...
Whenever youre at a meeting or party with someone important to you,
think of some stories he or she told you. Choose an appropriate one from
ooja
(Ooja)
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