We’ve all been to social functions where someone seems to know it all, and he makes the ridiculous assumption that people enjoy hearing him unload his vast stores of knowledge. But what really happens when you find yourself trapped in that situation with that guy? For one thing, you may feel unokay and get a little defensive and resentful and turn him off entirely. How seriously do you take him? How much do you remember of what he said? Talk about a bad assumption: His assumption that you’ll be impressed by all his talking literally takes him out of the game. (Here’s another assumption, on my
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