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| Yup, I really do wear this. |
No, but it can be tricky.
I routinely experience a situation where about 50% of the
people have a hard time.
When I write an article, I might interview a dozen
people. When the article is published, I will email these people the online link
to it. Only about half will acknowledge they got it. Is it hard to hit “reply”?
Does it cost money to say “Thanks”? And these are not people who are unhappy
with the piece. It’s not unusual for me to find out later that they ordered reprints,
etc.
I’m not blaming them. I’ve done the same thing myself.
But, why?
The people who do respond about an article, do so
immediately. That’s key: if you have the opportunity to say something nice, don’t
hesitate.
But timing can be hard, especially in conversation. Some
people are so good at immediately complimenting somebody on something. But once
they compliment you, you now can’t just turn around and compliment them
because, well, it sounds like you’re doing it only because they did it to you.
And I’m not always so quick to notice something positive
or to formulate what to say. It’s one of the drawbacks of being a grump.
I worry about sounding sincere. I have a Cookie Monster t-shirt
that people always compliment. “Yeah, well, if you had an enormous pink bow on
your head, they’d say, ‘Nice bow’ too,” my husband pointed out. So, there’s
that: people tend to mention stuff that draws their attention, good or bad.
Then, there’s being on the receiving end. The proper
response to a compliment is “Thank you,” period. It can be hard to refrain from
replying that, no, your outfit actually sucks.
I’ll get the hang of all this someday.
