One thing that has truly come to annoy me is texting and cell phones in general. I'm sure I'm not alone in this sentiment. I'm sure I engage in some of the things I'm about to complain about, but they annoy me none the less.
People talking on the phone in front of me annoys me. Especially when we're in the car. If it's important, sure take the call and ask if it's ok if you call them back. Or if we're not in the car, at least excuse yourself so I don't have to listen to it. Texting, surprisingly, annoying me equally as much as having to listen to someone talk on the phone. Sure, they aren't stopping your conversation to have another one, but they've having another one while talking to you. As if the person they're texting, who isn't even there, is more important than the conversation that they're having with you.
Facebooking when I'm at someone's house annoying me.
Myspaceing while I'm haging out with someone annoys me.
People showing me YouTube videos annoys me.
We talk in class all the time, and I've written about it in this blog a few times, about the utility of social networking and increasing the ability to keep in touch with people via BlackBerry or iPhone or even a Nintendo DS (even now, kids can completely ignore the people they're hanging out with to be on the internet).
But we also talk about whether or not all of this communication is really a good thing. Sure, it helps us all keep in touch and brings people closer together. But it also drives people apart. So many people get in fights and arguments over Facebook status or comments and wall posts or what a girlfriend finds when she logs into her boyfriends account.
So, really, is this what we've been waiting for? To be brought together by 140 character tweets?
Or have we opened pandora's box? And are we forgetting how to exist without the internet?
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Five
The power and art of persuasion is something that has always interested me. And, yes, I consider it an art. It is an art because if you can be really good at it, you can get people to do things that they may not necessarily want to do without them even knowing it. You can get people to believe things that may be entirely false.
As I've gotten older, I've come to realize that I'm quite good at getting people to do what I want. I honestly think that being, or sometimes just seeming, sincere is the key. If you can make people believe that you really believe in what you're saying then they will almost always go along with it. You have to choose your words carefully. You have to tell the truth while sometimes leave other things out.
The real key, though, is to never lie. Leaving things out and lying are two completely different things. If you are caught in a lie, you've ruined your credibility with that person for a long time, if not forever. I think it's part of human nature to believe others. Sure, at times we can be skeptical but who wants to go through life questioning everything we're told? We want to trust in what other people are saying.
So, if you can say something with a straight face, no matter how ludicrous it may seem, someone may have a hard time not believing you. For the longest time, a friend of mine and I had at least five people convinced that we were half sisters. The people that believed us had know us for a few years, known where we came from and knew other members of our families but we were able to persuade them of something that wasn't true.
BUT there is a tricky part.
The tricky part is using one's powers of persuasion for good, not evil. This is where I relate it to public relations. The general view of PR professionals is that they use this power for evil. To convince people of things that aren't really true or downplay something negative at any cost. When persuading friends to do things, like give you a ride or buy your dinner, there has to be some limits to what you'll say and what lengths you'll go to to get your way. The same goes for public relations, reputation management and crisis communication. The truth about the situation has to come first, then you fill in the details as necessary.
As I've gotten older, I've come to realize that I'm quite good at getting people to do what I want. I honestly think that being, or sometimes just seeming, sincere is the key. If you can make people believe that you really believe in what you're saying then they will almost always go along with it. You have to choose your words carefully. You have to tell the truth while sometimes leave other things out.
The real key, though, is to never lie. Leaving things out and lying are two completely different things. If you are caught in a lie, you've ruined your credibility with that person for a long time, if not forever. I think it's part of human nature to believe others. Sure, at times we can be skeptical but who wants to go through life questioning everything we're told? We want to trust in what other people are saying.
So, if you can say something with a straight face, no matter how ludicrous it may seem, someone may have a hard time not believing you. For the longest time, a friend of mine and I had at least five people convinced that we were half sisters. The people that believed us had know us for a few years, known where we came from and knew other members of our families but we were able to persuade them of something that wasn't true.
BUT there is a tricky part.
The tricky part is using one's powers of persuasion for good, not evil. This is where I relate it to public relations. The general view of PR professionals is that they use this power for evil. To convince people of things that aren't really true or downplay something negative at any cost. When persuading friends to do things, like give you a ride or buy your dinner, there has to be some limits to what you'll say and what lengths you'll go to to get your way. The same goes for public relations, reputation management and crisis communication. The truth about the situation has to come first, then you fill in the details as necessary.
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