The Deliberates (Warm) and the Festies (Cold)

At the apex of linguistic mastery, there emerges two distinct and corresponding methods of correspondence. One is not better than the other; neither is good nor bad, just dichotomous. The first conversational temperate is the deliberates. They are the Tony Robbins, the James K's. Their element is the earth -- the tree. They are calm, warm, slow, deliberate, Oak-like, in demeanor, and their words are the essence of the person's message. Note that, even though they depict the opposite of Cold feisties, they are not "hot" because hot connotes waspish and viciously quickness. They maintain stability by recieving a few blows, making their roots strong, and enduring despite some hardships and weather. How to interact with them (beating or dancing with) them: these guys are not marvelled by fancy footwork, but by the right usage of words. The right diction will achieve victory and comradeship with subtle footwork or all excessive footwork playing on the weakness, would be easiest

The other type are the feisties. They are the Basketball players, the Alex Ekmans, the Mike Maizels (maybe). Their element is water -- the ocean. They are feisty, agile, limber, cutting, icy, and quick. They are the instigators, the provocateurs, who insult and then compliment, throwing in slapshot comments to get people off balance, but then interjecting incredibly poignant praise. They are more deceivous than the deliberates, but equally as socially competent. They maintain their stability not with firmly planted roots, but with being able to dance around, avoid, evade, and dodge attacks, and move quickly with agility. How to beat them or befriend them: play on their strength, keeping up with the fast-paced dialouge, but then deliver a poignant deliberate mentality. Because they are very serious, the best method for interaction is realizing that excessive seriousness tends to cause myopia, so use gentle, mocking humor that is ontop of a narrow, but serious, focus.

I remember encountering a "feisty" in the suana once. I was sitting in there relaxing, having a calm conversation with a person, and talking about some pretty philosophical stuff -- creating ingenuity with passion to resolve a strength. In walks a "feisty", decked out in full long-sleeved clothing (warming up for a run), heard a few sentences, and then interjects, "You've got to stop smoking dope." I said that I wasn't interested in drugs and then shut up, kind of stunned that he had said that when I was so interested in health and non-drugs and the vitality of that certainty. What would have been a good strategy would have been to respond with a feisty comment to show that I could play that game, and then ease back into the deliberate mentality. Tactically, I could have responsed, "Nope, I'm clean as a whistle, monkey boy." Throwing around jargon and phraseology about not being on drugs and then commenting on how ridiculous he looked in the sauna, would have counteracted the comment.

Of course I, like George Costanza, can't think of these comebacks on the fly, but it is something I am working on.