The Power of Charm

CHAPTER 9

The Power of Attention

Our companions please us less from the charms we find in their conversation than from those they find in ours.

—FULKE GREVILLE

 

Here is a scenario that I’m sure is familiar to most everyone, particularly at the breakfast or dinner table. It sounds something like this:

She:	“You aren’t listening to me!”
He:	“Yes I am!”
She:	“No you’re not!”
He:	“I tell you I am!”
She:	“I’m telling you you’re not!”
He:	“I am. I can repeat every damn word you said!”
She:	“I don’t give a damn if you can. You aren’t listening ...