Once I had a young colleague who had an innocent way of annoying people. Innocent because it was not intentional and I think she was not even aware of it.
One time during a casual chitchat, I told her I had just bought a washing machine of a certain brand. 'Oh,' she said, 'this brand no good one. Always gives problems ....... ' and so she went on telling me about the problems she had heard from friends. Quite disheartening, isn't it?
Another time I gave her a lift on my way home. On the way I stopped at a duck rice stall, told her to wait for a minute and went to buy some duck for dinner. When I came back and told her what I bought, she said, 'I don't like duck. Ducks very dirty one, you know where farmers rear ducks what ducks feed on ....... ' And so she went on. Quite upsetting, isn't it?
2 comments:
Frannxis, I can understand why you felt that way.
Your young colleague is a typical cynic - one who sees no good in almost everything and is usually negative about most things.
Next time you meet such people, may I suggest you try this approach. Whenever they start their tirade, pull them back to see the positive side of things. For example, you can say:
"If this washing machine is no good, then what brand do you recommend?"; or
"That's not my experience. I've been using this brand for X number of years and I found it to be cheap but yet reliable and efficient."
"If you don't like duck, then what animals do you like? Pig?"
(Last word is not scolding her hor.)
It is ok Vic, that lady is quite nice, we often helped each other in our work. Maybe sometimes she speaks her thoughts too fast.
Post a Comment