How to be a Complete and Utter F**k Up, 3rd Edition

Step

41

Don’t learn to communicate

Quote to avoid

“The trouble with her is that she lacks the power of conversation but not the power of speech.”

George Bernard Shaw

Have you ever thought about this: you can’t not communicate. That’s right. Even if you stand there saying nothing, you’ll still be speaking volumes. Or as someone once said: “What you are speaks so loudly that I can’t hear what you are saying.” Here is a story to illustrate the point.¹

I once attended a sales conference of two thousand delegates at the Wembley Conference Centre in London. The afternoon session kicked off with a presentation from an image consultant who, in order to protect his identity, I’ll call Mr Pink. Image consultants are the kind of people who sidle up to ...