Blog 14 - It's All in the Tone

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"Just give me a sec, ok?

I heard someone say that at work today, and I could feel the hairs of the person she was saying it to bristle. I think I actually heard them.

You hear that line a lot...probably many times a day. Someone asking for patience, one moment to catch up, or find your answer, or get the cream for your coffee.... There is, without a doubt, a nice way to say that line. You can hear it in your head right now.

That's why it stuns me that this particular person has to say everything in a condescending manner...like she's talking to a 5-year-old who was born with only 3 brain cells. It's not necessary. Unless, of course, she is trying to make the other person feel beneath her - which is probably the case. She has an ill-founded superiority complex, and the saddest part is that she's not very superior. Which is why, I'm sure, she has to make up for it by ACTING like she is.

It would be sad and pathetic if it wasn't so annoying.

Xander and I have a game we play...it's called "The Dude Game." Sometimes a line will get stuck between us, and we challenge each other to say it in as many ways as possible. "It's so nice." (kindly) "It's so nice..." (amazed) "It's so NICE!" (stoked) "It's so nice?" (perplexed)

The mouth and tongue create the phonetics...air pushes past the vocal chords to create the sounds...but there's something deeper that creates tone. The tone comes from your heart, and that, ultimately, shows exactly what kind of Human Being you are.

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