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How to Quietly Get People’s Attention in a Noisy World

Michael Thompson
SIMPLE
Published in
6 min readMay 19, 2021

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Thank you for the love on this article. Your support played a role in publishing my first book — Shy by Design: 12 Timeless Principles to Quietly Stand Out — which has been featured in Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, and Big Think.

“I’ve arrived!” the young Hungarian announced to an audience of none. The year was 1921. The place was San Francisco. He’d been traveling for days, but instead of looking for a place to rest, the man had one last thing to do.

“Excuse me ma’am!” he politely said to an elderly woman. “Would you be so kind as to tell me which building houses the city press?”

“You can’t miss it!” the woman replied while pointing straight ahead. “It’s that building right there with all the flags hanging from it.”

After giving the woman a hat tip to show his appreciation, the young man made the short walk down the street. Then, he checked into the hotel directly in front of the building that housed the press, lugged his bags up seven flights of stairs, traded in his dusty clothes for a tattered straitjacket, and promptly threw himself out his hotel window.

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SIMPLE
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Published in SIMPLE

Deep dives, smart tips, and inspiring stories to be calmer, work smarter, and communicate better brought to you by Niklas Goeke, Michael Thompson, Nick Wignall, and friends.

Michael Thompson
Michael Thompson

Written by Michael Thompson

Co-creator of two cool kids • Storytelling Coach •.Fast Co., Insider, Forbes • Free storytelling guide here: https://bit.ly/3h1KZeT

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