Passages have been edited for the sake of brevity.
COACH
As a seventh-grade basketball coach at Savannah Country Day School, it is
my job to convince each player that he can learn and contribute without sacrificing the
overall good of the team. For example, a lot of players want to play more and
be able to do certain things on the floor, like shoot three-pointers. It would be
easy to tell some of these boys that they were not good enough to play more minutes or not
skilled enough to throw three's. The problem is that such bluntness would discourage
a lot of players and hurt the psyche of the team. I have to explain that every
player has certain strengths, such as defense, and that we each have to play a role on the
team if we all want to be successful. Then I have to tell the boy that if he
practices hard and keeps a good attitude there is always a possibility his role can
change. If I have done my job successfully, I have persuaded my players not to be
discouraged and to keep them interested in learning about basketball and putting the team
first.
For the past two years, I have tried every means to remind my husband to take out the garbage. . . . Our neighbor Donald is a big, tall guy like my husband, but he's much leaner. Donald comes over to visit about twice a week. When my husband leaves the room for something or to go to the bathroom, I time a scenario so that as my husband is returning from the bathroom, I am rushing to unlock the door for Donald, who is holding 30 gallons of garbage just as high as his six-feet five-inch frame. Now this scene does not look too inviting to a six-feet two-inch husband. It makes him as jealous as a green-eyed monster. My husband apologizes to Donald for my asking him to take out our garbage. And Donald just shrugs his shoulders answering that it is not a big deal.
BROTHERLY LOVE
Reading books at bedtime is a nightly ritual at our
house. Sunday evening was no exception. As I was getting [my four-year-old
son] Woody for bed, I had him go and select the three books that we would read.
After finishing the third book, he pulled out a fourth one and began convincing me how
important it was to [his younger brother] Camden that we read this particular book,
because how else was he to teach Camden to read if we failed to read that particular book
at that particular time. Needless to say, a fourth book was read that night.
Political posters, literature, and even clothing are unavoidable when entering my room. The first poster everyone notices is titled, "FUR. No skin off your back." This poster depicts a freshly skinned mink lying in dirt with its bloody flesh exposed. The Procter & Gamble poster, "Don't Buy while they die," offers awareness on the testing that corporation performs on animals. The two favorite posters are "The slave trade is alive and kicking" (which has an elephant in chains) and "Did your food have a face?" (containing three baby chickens). Rhetoric also comes in the form of Dr. Seuss (spread religiously around the room), Eracism, Food Not Bombs, EARTH FIRST!, straight-edge propaganda, and the music selection, which contains lyrics exposing the still existing COINTELPRO and other forms of corruption or injustices. . . .
--Diana Mediocre Julian
A WHISTLE'S WORTH A
THOUSAND WORDS
"L-A-C-E-Y, A-B-B-E-Y! Get back here Don't you know
the danger of running across the street? You could get killed. Now don't run
off like that. Wait for me to put the leashes on you."
"Hey lady," a neighbor calls. "Do you think your dogs
understand you?"
"I don't know."
"Let me try," he says. The next thing I know this guy is
whistling, in a nice pleasant whistling way, when Abbey and Lacey stop in their tracks.
"They respond to the whistle because it's a distinct sound to the
human voice," says Mr. Neighbor. "It gets their attention."
. . . As it is with dogs, so it is with people. If I'd take
a minute to view situations from the other person's point of view, I could probably figure
out what to say or not to say that would help out in a gentle, pleasing way.
The whistle. It's so simple. With a little patience and
kindness maybe we can find the whistle in our daily interactions with others.
Finally, my dogs are cooperating. Thanks to the well-placed
whistle.
Your fundamental goal as a person selling luxury items is to convince your customer that this item is anything but a luxury. It is the salesperson's job to persuade her customer that this over-priced piece of jewelry is somehow a necessity--that it will fulfill some void within their life. The salesperson's first step toward achieving this objective is to present a sound ethical standing. . . . Your language must convey that you only want what is best for your customer, that their concerns are your concerns.
Once you believe you have gained the buyer's confidence, you begin your emotional onslaught. The language you select can help to develop a strong connection between the buyer and the piece of jewelry he or she is interested in. You do this by referring to the jewelry as if it already belonged to the customer. You always compliment the buyer on their ability to select a piece of quality merchandise. You must persuade the customer that this item will draw attention, increase their social standing, and cause them to be revered and admired. . . .
