How to flatter your friends? - I

From many days I was planning to add some useful content to my blog.

Most of us since very young age have thought to do so or have been told by others - to learn just one word a day to improve our ‘vocab’.

As most of you would agree, ‘this one word a day’ is not as simple as it seems.  At least, in my case I have been planning one word a day, a week or 10 words a month, even sometimes at least 100 words a year and have even implemented such plans sometimes though not regularly...

So what I am going to do now is to share 10 words every month, in two parts of five each so that it’s easy to assimilate all of them.

To make the learning easy and captivating the entire stuff would be copied from “Word Power Made Easy” by Norman Lewis. I am going to pick his sessions randomly and reproduce here:

Here it goes, the first half:

Our first session would be ‘How to flatter your friends’?

Words are the symbols of emotions as well as ideas. You can show your feeling by the tone you use(‘You’re silly’ can be an insult, an accusation or an endearment, depending on how you say it) or

By the words you choose (you can label a quality either ‘childish’ or ‘childlike’ depending on whether you admire it or condemn it- it’s the same quality, no matter what you call it).

Consider the interesting types of people described in the following paragraphs, then note how accurately the adjective applies to each type.

1.      Put the kettle on, Polly

They are friendly, happy , extroverted and gregarious – the sort of people who will invite you out for a drink, who like to transact business around the lunch table, who offer coffee as soon as company drops in. They are social, genial, cordial, affable – and they like partiesand all the eating and drinking that goes with them.

The adjective is: convivial.

2.      You can’t tire them

Arnold Bennett once pointed out that we all have the same amount of time – twenty-four hours a day.

Strictly speaking, that’s inconclusive an observation as Bennett  ever made. It’s not that time counts, but energy- and of that wonderful quality we all have very different amounts,from the people who wake up tired, no matter how much sleep they’ve had, to lucky well-adjusted mortals  who hardly ever need to sleep.

Energy comes from a healthy body, of course; it also comes from a psychological balance, a lack of conflicts and insecurities.

Some people apparently have boundless, illimitable energy – they are on the go from morning to night, and often far into the night, working hard, playing hard, never tiring, never worn out or exhausted – and getting twice as much done as any three other human beings.

The adjective is: indefatigable

3.      No tricks, no secrets

They are pleasingly frank, utterly lacking in pretence or artificiality, in quite unable to hide their feelings or thoughts- and so honest and aboveboard that they can scarcely conceive of trickery, chicanery, or dissimulation in anyone.

There is, then, about them the simple naturalness and unsophistication of a child.

The adjective is: ingenuous

4.      Sharp as razor

They have minds like steel traps; their insight into problems that would confuse or mystify people of less

keenness or discernment is just short of amazing.

The adjective is: perspicacious

5.      No placating necessary

They are most generous about forgiving a slight, an insult, an injury. Never do they harbour resentment, store up petty grudges, or waste energy or thought on means of revenge or retaliation.

How could they? They’re much too big-hearted.

The adjective is: magnanimous

Hope it was not monotonous and you enjoyed passing by :) !!