OCR Text |
Show Uncommon Sense Bi John Blake 1 . Bell Syndicate. WNU Service. In a newspaper office a counsel la held among the editors before the journal jour-nal goes to press. Your Realizing the im- First Page portance of displaying display-ing wares properly to the public, the most vital and interesting in-teresting news of the day is printed, at least in part, on the first page. The reader, looking at the newspaper newspa-per on a street corner stand buys it largely because of some important news story. That is the newspaper's introduction introduc-tion to the public, day after day. Once a good impression is made, the public which is impressed looks to the same paper for important news the next day, and finally becomes a "constant reader." In the same way department stores, clothing stores, and the chain stores that sell all manner of groceries and foodstuffs, "dress" their counters, so that the best selling goods are where they attract the eye of the customers. That first impression is of the highest high-est value. And so is a first impression of the highest value to the young man or young woman who is making a start in life. Civility and intelligence can be displayed dis-played on a countenance and in a conversation con-versation as well as newspapers and goods. What is your first page like? Are you friendly and civil? Do you look people in the eye and talk to them in a straightforward fashion? If you do, you are making the right start. If you do not, you had better put on a better "front." Men and women are going to judge you, in the beginning, at least, by what you seem. You may be able, later, to prove your quality, but it is the start that counts at the beginning. You don't need to wear a continual smile. But you can look at people as if you were glad to see them. You can talk to them politely. You can be friendly. ' Remember that your whole future is going to be influenced by the way you speak and listen to other people. Do not be flippant or "smarty." Do not be short and snappy. Do not be cringing. Treat them as your equals. These are days of keen competition. It requires more than it did a few years ago to make the most of an Impression. Im-pression. So dress your first page well from the beginning, And do not neglect to keep it dressed thereafter. The man who says he takes no interest in-terest in his neighbors is either a grouch or a liar. . ,. , We are a sociable Neighbors race We all live in the same world, and, despite what we may think, we all are gifted with curiosity. curi-osity. I do not mean that we are all busy and prying, but we like to know something some-thing about the people whom we see regularly, even if it is twice a day on a commutation train. In a country town the arrival of a new citizen is an event. The people in whose vicinity he lives make it a point to get acquainted with him. If he is not the right sort they do not push the acquaintance to the point of intimacy. But they at least give him a chance to show what sort of a person he is. Residents of a great metropolis are, under their skins, just as "folksy." If you imagine that their neighbors do not interest them, walk through any residence, including the more pretentious preten-tious ones, and when a moving van drives up to a door you will observe many heads thrust through many windows, win-dows, and the owners of the heads are taking stock of the newcomers. And don't let anybody tell you that women are more curious in this respect than men. A new member on a golf course may not be aware of it, but about half the members of the club are looking him over and taking stock of him, and they are all, as a rule, pleased when they get an introduction to him. I had always heard before I went to England that the English are haughty and aloof and distant. But I discovered that among the Englishmen I met, and there were a good many hundred of them, there was just as much Interest in strangers there as In America. And why shouldn't there be? Do not move along in a little narrow track, afraid that if you don't associate always with the "right people." you will make some hideous social mistake. Supposing now and then you are ! thrown In with somebody that is not I so good. It Is easy enough to get rid of him. Naturally, the peasants In a European Euro-pean country, having no fear that they will lose caste, are more addicted to making quick friendships than are the ; so-called "upper classes." If you are sure of yourself, you will not need to worry about whether or not the strangers you meet are the right kind or the wron? kind. I |