I’m going to take a slightly different approach today as I realise I’ve been rather negative in dealing with some issues explored here at Ask a Toddler. So I’m not going to focus on our captivity in a system designed to exploit our human capital but type a little bit about keeping an audience captive, interested and engaged.
I don’t profess to have any particular skill in writing [or speaking for that matter] that may be considered a technique to keep people engaged. I adopt one technique that I think works. It’s simple. It’s easy. It comes naturally. That is: honesty. Being honest with yourself means you exude a confidence that is not found amongst many…you possess a confidence that allows you to speak your mind, to confront matters head-on without the need to beat around the bush.
When I’m honest with others who don’t adopt the same technique, I get a sense that they feel confronted, caught out, even uncomfortable at times. I wondered why that is for many years but the answer [I think] is quite simple but infinitely complicated at the same time. The simplicity is what we’re talking, a lack of genuine honesty. It gets infinitely complicated when we ask why? Why is it that some people aren’t genuinely honest with themselves and therefore everyone else? I don’t know why. Is it the old nature vs nurture that plays a role in this? Can it be that genuine dishonesty is just as aspirational to some as honesty?
Who knows. What I do know is that people are captivated by someone who is honest. They may not agree with the ideas and methods of those that are genuinely honest, but without fail, people will stop and listen. You will keep people captive by being honest.