This week I’ve asked all our writers (and a few guest writers) to contribute a post about “What Matters Now?” for them. The big thoughts and small actions that make a difference, when now is the time to do it. Stuff to think about and do this year. Make the change now, and reward yourself with what comes after that.
Today’s guest writer is an advertising colleague of mine and an avid reader of the blog. Why he requested anonymity is beyond me since his post is so thoughtful and insightful… I’ll just call him Donghae. Anyway, his topic is THE OPPOSITE OF SARCASM
image credit: http://www.jacksonvillemag.com/
Sarcasm is when you say something nice but you really mean something not so nice.
“She probably has a GREAT personality…”
“No no, it was delicious! That was the most adventurous meal I have ever had…”
I’d like to share with you an idea which is the exact opposite of that.
The Opposite of Sarcasm, if such a word did exist, is when you say something seemingly not nice but you mean nothing but love.
Your girlfriend tells you she can’t dance so you say, “I hate that about you! I guess we can’t hang out anymore…”
But you say it with a big grin on your face, and you give her a big hug as you do so. Then you take her hand and you give her a little spin. Because it’s not a verbal word play thing, it’s a human interaction thing.
Or maybe she’s embarrassed about her laugh, which makes her blush and you start laughing. This makes her blush even more. But the reason you’re laughing is because she’s just so darn cute about it.
Your words and actions may be in contrast to each other, but people will always trust your actions more than your words.
And it’s not just a guy girl thing, might I add.
Maybe a member of your staff asks you for some feedback on their work and they ask you if it’s any good. And you look at it and you say, ‘No, good isn’t the right word…’ Then they look crestfallen.
Then you say with a smile and a big thumbs up, because you meant it all along, ‘It’s fantastic. Well done.’
And they leave the office at the end of the day feeling proud of themselves, and they are motivated to do even better.
That’s why all the learning social skills stuff on this blog is so fascinating – you can’t interact with people simply over the keyboard. And you can’t learn it from a book. And you can’t analyse it endlessly by being distant from it. You need to experience and understand the expressions of other people. That’s why you go out and meet new people and you take that chance.
Just so you can understand what we really mean to each other.
Posted on April 30, 2010 by Jak
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