Why so serious?
Why Indeed?
Have you ever hit the SEND button and found yourself rubbing your temple and wondering, Should I have said that?
When words tumble out of my mouth, inflection and a smile increase the probability that my silly little phrases hit the mark.
When I type Gailisms on the page, I never know for sure how my audience interprets them. Where’d that arrow go?
In conversations verbal and written, I have a tendency to mirror the tone of my fellow conversant(s).
formal=formal casual=casual funny=funny warm=warm serious=serious playful=playful
I don’t put thought into this mimicry—it just happens naturally. Mirroring builds rapport and trust.
Do you do this?
Yesterday I made a new connection. Our Times New Roman sentences were candid and relaxed, so when I found a coincidence in our experience, I replied, “Get outta Dodge! You’re the second person who does that thing you do I’ve met this week.”
I hesitated after I typed Get outta Dodge!—too silly?—then hit SEND anyway.
Quirky—perhaps….
Authentic….yes…
Join me?
When we relax, it opens the door for others to do the same.