The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1924-02-14
De | Interrnptl
(By Roland r. Patten)

(By roland J.. IdtenD
For a reasonably courteous and
sensible man | do good many I'M
polite and foolish things. such as
make me impatient when | see them
done by others. have no idea of
conresslng all my defects but | am
quite willing to own up to one of
them. The very first rule of polite
conversation is NOT to talk too much
about ones own affairs. | know this
and yet. once | get a man cornered,
| fill him up with conversation about
things in which | am concerned and
interested. While | am doing this.
enthusiasm makes me completely OBJ
liyious to the crime | am committing.
When the conversation terminates. |
wake up and realize what a bore !
have been. For forty years I have
been struggling to reform. | like to
think | have improved a little. Per-
haps | may live long enough to over
come this inexcusable misconduct.
Now making the above confession
is just an excuse to mention one
thing / don't do: ] DO NOT INTER-
RUPT. DO |? If | do, I'm GER
.tainly not aware of it.
am entirely willing, ordinarily, TO
conduct the listening end of con-
versation, letting the other fellow talk
all the time. II the situation is such,
however, that | must speak few
words or leave myself misunderstood,
that won't quite do. Sometimes it
is immensely to the advantage of the
party talking to me to give me brief
look-in to the interview. and / know
it. can recall occasions wheye one
or the other of the considerations just
mentioned applied Under such
circumstances | would watch eager
ly for chance, but the opening of
my lips to speak seemed to act as a
signal to set the other fellow going
again.
well remember an interview of
this kind about twenty years ago. 1t
was on a subject of much Importance,
that is. it proved to be although per-
haps we didn't know, at the time, just
how important 1t was. The man had
approached me for my>opinion but 1
never got a chance to give 1t. He
did all the talking and when the con-
versation came to an end the opinion
he wanted was still locked up in the
recesses of my mind. He went ahead
and did the very thing | was going
to advise him not to do. 1t cost
him thousands of dollars and years
of anxiety and regret.
Only a few years since a gentleman
came to me To- confer about a bust
ness arrangement he was making. I
knew 1t was the wrong thing and was
anxious to advise him but he rambled
on for fifteen or twenty minutes so
that without rudely interrupting
could not tell him anything. A few
weeks later he came back chagrined
and indignant to ask me why l did
not tell him what was sure to follow.
Interrupted interview do not al
ways lead to disastrous results, but
the talking of two people at the same
time or the interruption of one by the
other is not the best way for COM
parison of minds. Well bred people
do not interrupt, although good
many we'll educated and seemingly re-
fined folks are more or less guilty
of that habit.
The added enjoyment derived from
a deliberate and well conducted con-
versation makes 1t well worth while.
There Is much more than reputa-
tion for good breeding at stake. In
conversation 1t is always best to give
the other fellow show.