sic-making

the most entertaining section of any newspaper is the career supplement. especially where they tell you how to do well in interviews, how to get along with your coworkers, and how to make the best of an unappreciative boss. interviews are my favouritest, though. earlier the fascination was due to comic relief, or so i thought. but perhaps this has roots in actual need for self-improvement in re my track record with interviews i.e. hilarious.

it doesn't matter what the darker motives are, this is all very good advice. for example, in today's issue, the author informs us on essential social skills in the workplace. listening is one of those skills and although we've heard a lot on the subject, i don't think it's possible to hear enough. so here's how to be a good listener:

it is important to hone one's non-verbal abilities and make encouraging noises, repeating a word or phrase of what is being said, maintaining close eye-contact and referring to what your interlocutor has said. nodding understandingly and appropriate gestures are appreciated too.

close quotes. first of all, who says interlocutor?

secondly, how come nobody ever says, to be a good listener, try listening? it's ridiculous advice, of course, but it's never occured to me that not looking ridiculous was a big concern with career gurus.

nodding understandingly won't make you a better listener, it will just make you a very annoying person. to be a listener, watch intonation. this is confusing because people never intonate what you expect them to intonate, they emphasise different things, accent perplexing syllables. but soon you will stop being confused about these little things and become confused about larger, more important things. you know you have become the best listener you can possibly be when you are one hundred percent bewildered by something your colleague just said. understanding is a whole other kettle of bloated fish. and judging by the current state of everything, we're not there yet.