Charm 101

Many people underestimate the power of charm. These are the same types of people who give up easily.

I have gotten into a sold-out concert for free, gotten free food (once, it was a catered event and I wasn't invited), gotten my math teacher to change my grade, gotten myself employed...

One of the things you have to understand about charm is that you can use it to get things you want. You can also use it to win people over.

I discovered this back in high school when I was performing a song at the talent show my high school organizes. I changed the song last minute and I added a guitar player, however I didn't tell the person who was organizing the show with enough time beforehand. In my mind, I didn't think it would be a big deal because I just needed an extra chair for him to sit beside me, they wouldn't need to add an extra mic or anything. No biggie right?

Wrong. Apparently, since he would be sitting beside me (we were doing an acoustic set), the whole lighting scheme would change. One spotlight wouldn't be big enough for both of us.

I was trying my hardest to convince the woman supervisor, but she wouldn't let me perform the song because it was last minute and it wasn't written into the script. And then the male teacher who was incharge of the whole production came in and asked what was wrong. I told him my case. At the end, he said it was no problem, and I was able to perform the song I wanted to. He pulled me in for a hug (which was kind of uncomfortable for me), but I let him hug me anyway because of what he just did for me.

And that was the start of me realizing what my womanly charm could do.

Men can charm too, so if you're male and you're reading this, don't feel disadvantaged.

I was at a bookstore today, and the bookstore owner, a man in his 40s tried to get me to buy more books by referring to me as the "pretty young lady". He wasn't hitting on me and I didn't find him creepy. It's completely fine to dole out compliments. Infact, I found his friendliness quite genuine and it makes me want to continue being a customer. I should also add that there are many men out there who use their charm to seduce women into one-night stands, and it works quite often.

The other time when I got both me and my then-boyfriend into the sold out show for free, the boyfriend complained that it seemed like I was begging and he was ashamed of standing next to me.

From one perspective, yes, getting things for free after persuading people to give them to you is similar to begging. On the other hand, I see it as using powerful convincing skills to get what you need. I explained to the guy incharge of the doors that I absolutely had to see the band that was sold out and if I could, I'd pay money to see them because they were one of my favourite acts. He was hesitant at first, but in the end, after seeing my determination, both me and the boyfriend got in for free. We saved $45 each! Woohoo!

There was a journalist who came to my university to speak. She was once captured in a foreign country and held in prison. After the guards checked to see that she was indeed a journalist and not a spy, they let her go. There was only one problem, all of her belongings were in her car, which was in an enemy territory. She managed to convince the guards to retrieve all of her things!

If you're reading this, wondering how this blog post applies to you, here are some lessons you can take away:
1. Don't take no for an answer, there is a way around things most of the time.
2. Don't be afraid to ask for more.
3. You can get people to like you and to help you out using charm.

Have fun!