reasonable dimensions, it would be better to omit it entirely. The
habitual long-story teller may easily become a bore.

Avoid the habit of eagerly matching the other person's story or
experience with one of your own. There is nothing more disconcerting to
a speaker than to observe the listener impatiently waiting to plunge
headlong into the conversation with some marvellous tale. Be
particularly careful not to outdo another speaker in relating your own
experiences. If, for instance, he has just told how he caught fifty fish
upon a recent trip, do not succumb to the temptation to tell of the time
you caught fifty-one.

Be careful not to give unsolicited advice. It has been well said that
advice which costs nothing is worth what it costs. If people desire your
counsel they will probably ask for it, in which case they will be more
likely to appreciate what you have to tell them.

Do not voluntarily recommend doctors, dentists, osteopaths, pills,
coffee substitutes, health foods, health resorts, or panaceas for the
ills of mankind. If you can be of service to others in these particular
respects, it will be when you are specifically asked for such
information.

It is most imprudent to carry an argument to extremes. If you observe an
unwillingness in the other person to be convinced by what you say, you
had better turn to another subject. Conversation should never resolve
itself into controversial debate.

It is well to avoid discursiveness, over-use of parentheses, and
positiveness of statement. Keep your desires and feelings from