How to Avoid the World’s Worst Conversational Habit

Once I was at a small dinner party given by the president of an

advertising agency, Louis, and his wife, Lillian. The evening

started with cocktails, followed by a gourmet meal accompanied

by a selection of excellent wines. The conversation had been convivial, the cuisine delicious, and the wine very fine. And very plentiful. At the end of the evening, Louis raised his glass to make a

toast. A few wine droplets sloshed out of his glass onto the

tablecloth.

A pretty young woman who was the date of a new art director named Bob giggled and said, "I can tell you're feeling no pain."

Shock waves went around the table. Everyone froze. The host

was indeed a bit inebriated. However, alluding to Louis being a

little looped, even in jest, was as though the woman had suddenly

smashed the crystal chandelier above the table with her dinner

plate.

One guest quickly covered the girl's horrifying gaffe by lifting her glass and saying "None of us is. No one in the company

of Louis and Lillian could ever feel any pain. Here's to a truly wonderful evening."

Louis then continued with his toast to the wonderful company, and no one was feeling pain any longer. Except Bob. He

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How to Avoid the

World's Worst

Conversational Habit

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knew his date's innocent teasing was a black mark, if not in his

personnel file, on his personal file.

The next sure sign of a little cathood is teasing. Little cats go

around patting their friends' paunches and saying, "Enjoying that

cheesecake, huh?" Or looking at their balding heads and saying,

"Hey, hair today, gone tomorrow, huh?" They think it's hilarious

to make a quip at someone else's expense and say "You don't have

an inferiority complex. You are inferior! Hardy har har."

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