Soften the Message

 

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We've all heard it; " It's not what you say, it's how you say it".  I drove by a hotel the other day that had a unique sign out front in place  of the usual "No Vacancy".  Instead  the sign announced,  "Happily Full".  Hmm, doesn't that seem so much more friendly?   Same information - no rooms available, yet the "Happily Full" delivers it in a way that really makes you wish they had a room for you .

I heard that crazy ad for Latrisse last night , you know, the one that asks, "Do you suffer from inadequate eyelashes"?  Well, no, I hadn't been until you tagged on that loaded word "inadequate".  So in addition to all the other messages aimed at making women feel that they aren't good enough, we now can add the eyelash problem.  It's not that I don't like a swoosh of mascara, but really, is it necessary to label those little eye winkers "inadequate?  Short, light, sparse -  maybe, but inadequate is just piling it on.  (Don't get me started on the "suffer" part - really, eyelashes and suffering don't belong in the same sentence)!  Just say the stuff will make your eyelashes longer - no need to pile on the baggage.

 

 

Then there are all the "Dogs must be on leash" signs.  A reasonable request, better said by a sign I saw once that had a nicer way of saying the same thing;  " We welcome your leashed dog in our park".

We all respond better when the message isn't an assault or an insinuation that somehow we are less than up to snuff, even if that might be true.   The way we talk to each other can either move the dialog along or shut it down.    Pointing out inadequacies puts us on the defensive and messages that smack us in the head make the day a little less pleasant. 

We are bombarded with messages all day long and it's not unreasonable to think  that all those abrupt messages take their toll.  I wonder if we may be sacrificing some of our happiness in the interest of efficiency.  Maybe a kinder, gentler approach would work better.