I work with a Texan. Really nice guy and smarter then me but he never talks down to me. He phrases his suggestions as questions and the thicker he lays on the drawl the more likely it is that his opinion will turn out to be good advice.
I know a guy like that. He's not a Texan, I don't think that part matters. He's a retired Chicago cop. I interact with him in the context of volunteer work for a few organizations locally. I have no idea how he does it, but he'll walk up, start chatting, have a question or two, maybe relate a musing he was having, and go on to talk to someone else. Every damn time I find myself doing his bidding and about an hour realizing that fact. I have no idea how he does it, other than he's a wizard. He never says "do this", or "i think you should ...". I've seen it work on many other people as well.
