Beware: There are small talk criminals lurking everywhere. The coffee shop, your kids’ school, the gym, the office, the dinner party. These brazen bullies strike quickly and without warning – and they don’t care who they hurt. My ongoing series, Talk Tyrants, serves two purposes: it allows you the chance to escape the attack […]
Manners
The Evils of Email – Yet Again. Why Email Can Be Our Worst Enemy.
I’ll say it again: email can be evil. Emailing in the heat of the moment is like taking four shots of whiskey and starting a bar fight – you think it’s a good idea until 30 seconds later when you are in way over your head and regretting your last move. And let’s not forget […]
E-Etiquette in the Classroom? Some Students are Flunking This Course.
Evan Selinger’s recent piece, E-Etiquette in the Classroom, is not necessarily groundbreaking. After all, what is deemed appropriate or inappropriate in our new reality, namely the over-teched world where we try to electronically co-exist, has been a topic of conversation for a while now; and I’m guessing it […]
Talk Tyrants and Their Victims | A Small Talk Series | The Monopolizer
Beware: There are small talk criminals lurking everywhere. The coffee shop, your kids’ school, the gym, the office, the dinner party. These brazen bullies strike quickly and without warning – and they don’t care who they hurt. My ongoing series, “Talk Tyrants,” serves two purposes: it equips you to artfully escape the attack of […]
Should Kids Use Formal or First Names With Adults?
Dear Debra, School’s back in session and I am not sure how to introduce myself to children in my child’s class. There are some children in class whom I have known for many years, and they call me by my first name. But there are new faces as well, and I would actually […]
Why A Handshake Gets A Thumbs Up.
My friend Molly recently told me about her son’s first day at jiu jitsu and she was, in a word, thrilled. “Griffin tried to fist bump the instructor and he said, ‘Oh, no, Griffin, we shake hands in jiu jitsu’. I was so happy! He’s learning jiu jitsu and proper manners all at the same time! He’s […]
