Evening star., 1933-06-22
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

| II he detects your maneuver he will
become more dumb than the proverbial
oyster.
Accordingly, the only method which
will succeed is to permit him to launch
his own boat and then sail in it.
| 4
| Here Is plenty Of opportunity for
mastery, in a small but important way
Not everybody is fitted for stratagem
on large scale, nor for operations Of
| plunder, public or private.
/ Some human beings are so consti-
tuted that the nearest they can come
to intrigue is in such very minor but
such very important human trifles as
this of making a difficult conversa-
tionalist open up.
One must like the person, in the first
place, and know enough of him to un-
derstand his mind and mood; We had
almost said his minds and moods, for
his minds are as many as his moods.
| There will be found two types of men
difficult to talk to, those who are prac-
tically strangers and those quite well
| known.
The best way to handle the former
is according to the well known practice
Of selecting the topics of the day, or
the day itself, its weather, and so on.
If he will not talk freely, openly,
easily If he succeeds In making you feel
constrained, resolve not to worry about
it, one way or another.
| 1t will be discovered. If you stop
worrying about the lack of conversa-
ton between you, he probably will get
into something of the same mood.
| X 4 X
| One Of the troubles Of such paucity
is that both parties are seized by shy
ness at the same time.
| No doubt cigarette smoking has part
of its hold on the public because 1t
seems to put people more at their ease.
| The world has imbibed the doctrine
that nonchalance is desirable. at any
cost.
If one party to a talk is i'll at ease
the other is likely to be.
Therefore, one of the first steps to
ease the other fellows constraint is to
put an end to your own.
One way Of doing this is to have a
mind so full of topics that one is think
| ing about them all the time. And the
best way to secure this happy freedom
| from time and place is to be interested
| in a great many things.
The world insists that one shall be
able to do" what he Is interested in,
but that is something Of a mistake. One
may be interested properly in great
many things he cannot do, handle or
make.
BY keeping the mind filled with In
terests, one not only has some fund Of
conversational material, but, above all,
one has plenty to think about.
Thus, II one will continue to think
without saying anything-one will set
| the other fellow at his thinking ease,
| too, and half the battle is won.
Whatever one may think Of the idea
of telepathy, and the like, there does
seem to be something or other to
| thought transference. Maybe it Is no
deeper than physical signs of comfort,
| but these, in their turn, help to put an
other mind into like mood.
In attempting to draw out beloved
comrade, when he or she happens to
be in a non-talkative mood, the best
thing to do is to think over the known
likes, and especially enthusiasms.
II there Is a brand-new hobby, one
which for the time is taking all the
others idle time, as well as money, this
| is the one big topic.
Get him interested in that. by per-
hitting him to think he brought up the
! subject himself, and you will see the
| light of interest shining in his eyes. His
| tongue unloosens, and shortly he Is
| every inch a conversationalist.