F*** Y**, And More Asterisks.

Thankfully, there are still some print media that don’t allow ‘contemporary’ language.

So they subsititute asterisks.

But you don’t speak in asterisks and ‘bleeps’, do you?

So you shout. You elbow.

And cuss.

And show the finger.

And generally say, “F*** manners! I need to get my s*** done!”

But dude, this is the 21 Century: fully 692 long years after William of Wykeham said “Manners maketh the man.”

What’s more, it’s 78 years after ‘Miss Manners’ Judith Martin, said, “We are born charming, fresh and spontaneous, and must be civilized before we are fit to participate in society.”

Also, 66 years ago, Emily Post (then the second most powerful woman in America, after the President’s wife Eleanor Roosevelt) said, “Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have that awareness, you have good manners, no matter what fork you use.” (Italics mine.)

It’s simple: if you want to change the world, you need to get under people’s skins.

And having done that, you also need to understand them, build a rapport with them, empathize with them.

It all boils down to what Ms Post said: “…understand the feelings of others.”

There is simply no other way to get your fellowmen to carry you up the ladder so you can touch the stars above.

Rajan Nair has won an obscene number of awards for excellence in creative advertising. He is Course Director of OmnivoreAcademy.com, who are Knowledge Partners for the Advertising Agencies Association India’s Online Copywriting Course.