The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1915-01-16
DR.. Marden's
Uplift Talks
BY oRIsoN SWEET MARDEN.
MAKING OF CONVERSATION A
FINE ART.
Copyright by Mcclure Newspaper syndicat

-
Talk, talk. 1t does not matter
much what you say. but chatter away
lightly and gayly. Nothing embar-
rasses and bores the average mar so
much as a girl who has to be enter
tanned"
Thus a noted society leader, who
had been very successful in the
launching of debutantes, was recently
advising one of her protegcs.
1 know of no other one accomplish
ment which will do so much to ad-
vance a girl socially as to become a
superb conversationalist. 1t is indi-
eative Of intelligence, education, good
breeding and culture. 1t will make a
girl popular in spite of plain features.
There is no other one quality which
will give a girl such power over 9TH
ers, which will make her so popular,
as to be able to fascinate people with
her conversation. The good CONVEX
sationalist is always the center OF at
traction in any company.
A girl who can talk well, who has
the art of putting things in an at
ldCllN0 way WIN Cdh hNOAO5 80
ers Immediately by her gift of speech,
has a very sreat advantage over n
who may know more than h but
who cannot express herself with ease
or graciousness.
There is no other one thing which
enables us to make so good an i'm
preston, especially upon those who
10 not know us thoroughly, as the
ability to converse well. To be a good
conversationalist, able to interest
people, to rivet their attention. to
draw them 10 you naturally by the
very superiority of your conversation
al ability, is - be the possessor of a
very great accomplishment, one which
is superior to all others. 1t not only
helps you to make a good impression
upon strangers; it also helps you to
make and keep friends. 1t opens
Goors and softens hearts. 1t makes
you interesting in all sorts of com.
pany. 1t helps you to get on in the
world. 1t helps you into the best so.
ciety, even though you may be poor,
The way to learn to talk is to talk
The temptation for young people who
are unaccustomed to society, and who
feel diffident, is to say nothing them
selves and listen to what others say;
but good takers are always sought
after. Everybody wants to invite
Miss So-and-So to dinners or recep
tons because Sc is such a good talk
CT. She entertains. She may have
many defects, but people enjoy hel
society because she can talk well.
Conversation, if used as an edu
Gator, is a tremendous power devel
oper; but talking without thinking
without an effort to express onesel
with c~learness, conciseness or eff
cheney, mere chattering or gossip, tn,
average society small talk, will neve
get hold of the best thing in a girl
II lies too deep for such superficia
effort.
Nothing else will develop a girl
brain and character more than tn
constant effort to talk we'll, intelIi
gently, interestingly, upon all sorts o
topics. There is a splendid disciplin,
in the constant effort to express one
thoughts clearly. and in an interest
ing manner. We sometimes meet pee
pie who are such superb converser
that no one would eve dream tina
they have not had the advantages O
the higher schools. Many a colleg
graduate has been silenced and pu
to shame by people who have neve
even been to a high school, but VIII
have cultivated the art of self-ez
preston
Now and then we meet a real al
fist in conversation, and it is such
treat and delight that we wonde
why the majority of us should be sue
bunglers in our expression, why W
should make such a botch of the me
dunn of communication between HI
man beings, when it is capable of b
ing made the art of arts.
No matter how expert you may b
in any other art or Accomplishment
you cannot use your experiences a
ways and everywhere as you can tn
W to inverse we'll.