Press On: How interesting are you?
By Gary Dickson
I recently spent a few days sitting in a hospital waiting room. Everything turned out great for the family member involved. While I was there I caught up on my reading and even had time to read some magazine articles that I wouldn”t have otherwise read. I would like to share one. It was titled “How to become a more interesting man.”
During the past few years I have been enamored with the Dos Equis XX beer commercials that feature the gentleman reported to be “the most interesting man in the world.” You know; the sophisticated guy whose mom has a tattoo that reads “on.” And, for Discovery Channel”s Shark Week, the recent commercial announces that even sharks have a week dedicated to him.
It would seem to be quite a burden being the most interesting man in the world. I don”t think I would want to carry that yoke on my shoulders. In reality, perhaps it”s mostly jealousy, but I”ve rarely been drawn to individuals who many people consider to be the most interesting people. Envy aside, many of those people tend to be rather full of themselves and I have always shied away from the conceited types.
Since only one person can be the most interesting man in the world, I guess that leaves room for the rest of us to improve.
The article I read included a list of ways men can become more interesting to the people they already know and to new people they meet. I honestly don”t know why the author targeted men only. It wasn”t a men”s magazine and the information would appear to be helpful to women, too.
I knew I was going to like the article, though, when I scanned the list. The first tip to become more interesting was “Listen more than you talk.” Since I have never been accused of being the most talkative person in a crowd, I figured this was good news. I must be doing something right. Most people I have encountered who appear to think they are the most interesting person in the room can”t seem to stop yakking; usually about how interesting they are.
Next, I certainly agreed with “Realize that no one likes the guy who knows something about everything.” That is how I imagine the most interesting man in the world to be and it”s annoying, to me.
Another item on the list was “Know a few historical anecdotes.” I didn”t care for the author”s example that Salvador Dali napped while holding a spoon over a metal pan so when he dropped the spoon he was awakened. I favor something more like; Do you know that John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died on July 4, 1826; the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence?
Close to the bottom of the list appeared “With people you don”t know, limit stories to the last five minutes of your life.” That”s pretty restrictive, but better than what my wife once encountered. A perfect stranger started a conversation with, “My mother had breast cancer. I had a double mastectomy so I wouldn”t have to worry about it.” My wife, who is more talkative than me, could only muster, “That”s interesting.”
The last one on the list, “Never mention your blog,” made me feel a little guilty. I don”t have a blog, but there have been times when someone brought up a topic that I had recently written a Saturday column about, so I stated as much and provided a comment based upon what I had written. My bad.
We”re all human. When we encounter others, we would rather have them view us as interesting, rather than boring. Sometimes the problem is we try too hard to impress others.
It usually works best for me to listen well and talk when I have something to say that”s meaningful or that at least positively contributes to the conversation.
Gary Dickson is the publisher of the Record-Bee. Call him at 263-5636, ext. 24. E-mail him at gdickson@record-bee.com.
