Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-02-24
DOROTHY DIX
DISCUSSES
LIFE
BY DOROTHY DIX
Try Your Remarks on Your Own
Piano; If You Like Them, Pass
DIV Al0nU

Try Your Remarks on Your Own
Piano; If You Like Them, Pass
FIX. Along
A 1OUNG girl complains that
II she is a dummy in society. She
- saws she never knows what to
say to people, and she wants to know
| if there is any school Of conservation
wherein she can be taught the fine
art OF sm"ll talk.
Shoe, daughter, there isn't any
difficulty in knowinG what TO say 10
nef. de. Just think of what you
would like to have people say to you,
and hand it right out, smoking not
on the platter, to them. This is an
| infallible rule that lways works,
and if you will follow it you Will
soon get the reputation of being
| spellbinder.
j If YOU will reflect, YOU will recog-
nize that the individuals who bore
YOU to tears are those who mono
| logue along by the hour about them
selves, their achievements, their au'
tomobiles, their houses, their chill
dren and their other possessions. You
remember how often you have felt
| that human end rance could stand
no more, and that you would be
obliged to scream aloud in your
eonv if YOU had to hear another
detail of Mrs. AS major operations,
! or what kind of line Mr.. b. used
for fishing for tarpon, or what Mrs.
C's sisters cousins cunts maid did,
or the bright thing little Johnny
said, or the cute thing little Sally
{ pulled.
I &c CD to6inI1c
and t.resome to you as those who
| talk about their own personal al
| fairs, do YOU refrain from making
Yourself the subject of your own dis
| course. No other human being on
earth, except your own mother, is
! interested in your personal expert
ences, therefore clamp the soft pedal
down good and tight on your egolsm
| if you want to be persona grata in
| society.
| On the other hand, if you desire
to be considered a brilliant converse
! tionalist all that you have to do is
| to acquire the knack of starting PEG,
pie off to talking about themselves.
! There isn't 3 man in the world who
| wouldn't rather repeat to you a
comic supplement joke himself than
listen to Irwin Cobb's best story.
There isn't a man who doesn't get
more thrills out of relating how he
got a puncture on a bad road on a
dark night than he would in hearing
the tale of world adventuTer.
There isn't woman who wouldn't
rather tell about what she said to
her husband, and what he said to
her than to listen to the most elO-
uuent speech ever made. There isn't
a mother who doesn't think that the
most important piece of news of the
day is her son making the football
team, or her laughter getting en-
gagged.
So if you want to be considered
witty and wise, and a fascinating
I'tallser, ali you hays to do is to touch
the button that starts people dis
ceursiRg about themselves. They
will do the rest.
You know how it pleases you for
somebody to remember your little
personal peculiarities. 1t makes you
feel as If you had individuality, some
quality that lifted you above the
mob. Other people feel exactly the
same way about it.
Therefore, you can be very sure
of making a hit with Mr.. A if you
remind him of that very interesting
subject he was talking of the last
time you met. Mrs. A won't exactly
hate you if you tell her you envy
her that artistic house of hers, and
little Miss A will think you're the
sweetest thing if you remember the
blue dress and the pink rose buds