TACTLESS LISTENERS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18396, 11 May 1923, Page 12

TACTLESS LISTENERS.

The woman who listens well holds '7a certain key to popularity. The trouble/ is that'many women who really ' wish to listen sympathetically have by no means acquired the art. ThereV are •so many kinds of listeners. ; One "' of the ' most' annoying is the woman who looks at one blankly ,in the middle of a story and never says a word. This invariably upsets the narrator,' and she loses the thread of her discourse and thinks how flat her chatter must sound. The person 'who interrupts when the speaker, strikes.some chord of association is also ya . trial to nerves and temper. "Yes, that happened to me, too," or, "That reminds me," she interjects. And then follow reminiscences, ending with, " Excuse me for interrupting. What were you saying?" , Still another . irritating listener is the ejaculatory person. "Ah!'* "Oh!" "Yes!" " Not really ?" "I know," ■ she mutters at intervals, with the regularity of machine-gun firing. What sort vof listener do I like to talk to? Oh, anyone , who is really responsive. One of the very pleasantest qualities in a listener is, I think, a soft, sympathetic, laugh—at the right time! But that possession is rare. I know only one or two women who have it, but there is nothing more contagious or stimulating when used with discretion.