When Jacqueline Bouvier married JFK she became “Mrs. Kennedy.”
She was the Princess Di of her generation.
Following her husband’s assassination, Jacqueline’s voice was almost never again heard in public. She quickly became the most mysterious and glamorous woman on earth. When she married Aristotle Onassis, the world’s richest man, she became forever thereafter, “Jackie ‘O’.”
“Like so much in her life, the aim of her signature style was concealment. A chemical straightener disguised the naturally kinky hair she hated. The teased bouffant masked a low hairline. Kid gloves covered large, strong, mannish hands… the cut of her suit jacket artfully concealed the breadth of her shoulders and her muscular back and arms. The skirt disguised hips she thought much too broad. The shoes were specially cut to make large feet look smaller and more feminine. Sunglasses hid brown eyes set so far apart that her optician had to special-order a suitably wide bridge. Dark lenses had the additional advantage of guarding emotions that since childhood she had taken tremendous pains to hide.”
– Barbara Leaming, Mrs. Kennedy, (2011)
But, oh, she was glamorous.
“One way or the another, all glamour follows the formula laid out by Hollywood photographer George Hurrell, ‘Bring out the best, conceal the worst, and leave something to the imagination.’ Mystery is an essential element of glamour as it provides a blank space for the imagination, a spot where the audience can project its own desires.”
– Virginia Postrel, The Power of Glamour
Silence, too, provides a blank space and a mystery. It is a type of glamour. Few people use it to full advantage.
“Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence.”
– Leonardo da Vinci
Nassim Nicholas Taleb, too, understands this power of silence. “Never say no twice if you mean it.”
Taleb also observes, “What we call a ‘good listener’ is usually someone with skillfully polished indifference.” And when that same cold indifference turns its face toward you, the silence can hurt like frostbite. “You remember emails you sent that were not answered better than emails that you did not answer.”
Roger Lincoln says,
“There are two rules for success.
(1) Never tell everything you know.
Ha! Silence – the voice of Mystery – strikes again.
Perhaps we should study it.
I think maybe I’ll start
now.
Roy H. Williams
Later this morning (Monday, June 9,) subscribers to the wizard’s monthly webinar are going to experience the world debut presentation of How to Sell Upscale Products and Services.
I sat in his office and watched him work on it for more than 50 hours. It’s useful stuff. I suspect it will be expanded into a new class at Wizard Academy later this year, but if you just can’t wait, contact one of the Wizard of Ads partners. Each of them will soon have it on their laptop so they can rock whatever crowd you put in front of them. Lights! Projector! Action!
TED Talks have reenergized the public speaking industry, which is great news for Karen Loucks Rinedollar, founder of Denver Speakers Bureau, which despite its Rocky Mountain name, matches speakers to organizations and companies in all 50 states. Rinedollar says there’s an art to identifying the right speaker for the each occasion. Have you ever thought about becoming a paid public speaker, or do you perhaps need a speaker for an upcoming event? Listen in as Rinedollar takes the podium at MondayMorningRadio.com