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Vol.29
The Person Who Does Everything by
the Book. |
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I read the following story in a newspaper before.
A housewife bought a
new car and picked it up from
the dealer. On her way back
home, she stopped at a gas
station for gas. Though the car
is brand new, a young female
employee at the stand asked the
housewife after filling up gas,
“How about car-washing?”
I’m
afraid there are thousands of
similar stories where people
just do things by the book or
manual.
I’m not saying
following a manual is wrong. The
Ogasawara School of Etiquette,
famous for rules of etiquette
since the Edo period, must come
in handy as a reference manual
for people who don’t know
manners to prevent any foul-ups.
If you just do
everything according to a
manual, however, without
questioning its purpose, the
consequence would be something
like the “How about
car-washing?”
A manual only
contains some basic information
to follow and can be most useful
when you change it on your own
depending on situations.
At
entrance and graduation
ceremonies in elementary and
junior high schools, guests
always give congratulatory
speeches. Most of their
speeches, however, are reused
ones from a speech manual.
Children who get bored with that
kind of speech start
chitchatting or staring blankly
out the window, looking away
from the podium.
If
speeches are interesting,
unique, or inspiring, children,
who are sensitive, would listen
to them with their eyes glowing,
possibly resulting in great
impact to their future. So, just
speak with your own words,
without looking at the memo. You
don’t have to try hard to tell
good things about yourself. A
story about your mistake could
be rather worthwhile.
After
all, I think an etiquette manual
means simply not being rude to
others. If you put yourself in
shoes of others and talk nicely
to them with your own words and
attitude, they will deeply
understand you and even overlook
some of your mistakes.
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