The First Version of the Story seems like the Truth

A word of advice in the times of the internet, social media, and of course, for my Superbly Important Readers who need to sometimes curb media drama.

This is a psychological trick if you want to control the media or the way others view you. Always hurry to tell your side of the story to as many people as you can. That sounds very manipulative because it kinda is. However, the truth is that the Normal Person* are VERY SLOW to change their perception of things. True or false, they tend to like the first story they hear.

Make it unremarkable

The trouble is, that the Savants* also pay attention. They will notice if you over-react to a situation that isn’t yet such that others need to know about. Therefore, if you can, select your audience. Tell your story as understatedly as you can. Avoid drama, and, if you feel like it, point out that there are people who are likely to try and make a drama out of this, although it was truly quite an unremarkable event.

The Normal Person* are afraid of drama. If you give them a reason to believe a non-dramatic version of the events, they’re likely to latch onto it. If, however, you deny it AFTER someone else has made it into a drama, they think you’ve got caught and that now you’re trying to cover up the mess you created, and that it’s probably worse than your accuser even is aware of.

If you weren’t guilty, why didn’t you tell us?!

The Normal Person* are often very very nosy. They think everything is their business. Even though you feel that none of it was any of their concern, they will easily feel differently. So if someone makes an accusation against you, and you haven’t told someone about it by then, they’ll assume it’s because you thought you can get away with it.

Even in a non-dramatic situation, avoid having to correct yourself later

I blog. I have a few readers, plus some voices keeping taps on me. Some of the stuff I’ve written in a way that a Savants* understands it but the Normal Person* doesn’t still keeps creeping up on me no matter how many times I’ve corrected them on what I said or what I meant. They are truly attached to the way things were, as in, the way they understood something to be. They like to think they understood something, even if it had NOTHING to do with the actual events.

Example

For instance, my mother and I have had issues with since forever. She has gotten it into her head that my problems stem from the fact that she didn’t hug me much when I was a kid. I’ve tried to tell her over and over, that our issues truly started only after I became a teenager, and that her hugging me had 0 effect on the way I feel. I’ve also tried to tell her that my issues with her are somewhat more current, too, but she won’t let go of her idea that I am accusing her for not hugging me.

She is equally attached to something I said at the ripe age of 4. I said I would never move out of my hometown. She STILL believes what I said at the age of 4 was how I TRULY wanted things. I was barely aware there WAS a world beyond our town back then.

Try not to make work in progress statements near the Normal Person*

In general, it’s best not to make too many statements about anything near the Normal Person* until you’re 100% sure about what you want to do. They will always try to push you in the direction that you first chose for yourself, as they think that’s what you really want and everything that comes after is a compromise. Cute, in a sense, but awful.

They’ll never change their minds about you once they think they’ve got you figured out.

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