Tom’s Life Lessons: Good news, everyone!

I occasionally feel like I've missed out on some things in life. Like I missed the class where they told you "this is the appropriate way to show interest in someone as a friend" or "here are a list of things that are inappropriate to say to people" or "today we will demonstrate how to have a normal, everyday conversation." Maybe I was sick a lot in grade school? I don't think I was.

So I'm going to start a series called Tom's Life Lessons.

DISCLAIMER: TOM IS IN NO WAY QUALIFIED TO GIVE LIFE LESSONS

Now that that's over with, here's your simple takeaway for today.

When someone comes in to deliver good news to you about themselves it is best to reference yourself as little as possible. If the person is simply bragging, you may of course draw the conversation back to you, but there are a few occasions where the proper response is only joy for the person and polite, non-invasive questioning, in order to allow this person to talk more about this exciting news they are sharing. Scenarios which fall under these rules are, for example:

• Weddings
• Pregnancies
• Births
• Engagements
• New significant others
• Home purchasing
• New iPhones*

In these scenario it is considered proper to talk little about yourself. You may relay some of your own experiences, and assure the person that this milestone or experience will be exciting and wonderful, but otherwise, let them talk and share. These kinds of things happen rarely, and it is considered proper to allow others to bask in them.

* May only apply to Tom.