The Rudiments of Rudeness
Many social gestures fall right on the mark of rudeness, and yet, we get caught doing them a lot of the time. Once and for all, a list of all the little things that constitute a lack of breeding or tactlessness. Keep on the track of tasteful courtesy, grace and peasantness. A good rule? If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything. Here’s what NOT to d:
- Say to a friend or acquaintance you run into: "Wow, you’ve gained so much weight."
- At the dinner table, start eating the second you are served, even though the others haven’t been yet.
- Wipe down the utensil with a napkin when having dinner at a private home.
- Ask such direct questions such as, "How much do you make a month"? or "Why don’t you have a boyfriend, yet? or "How old are you, anyway"?
- Make personal remarks about a person’s body such as, "You really have wide hips, don’t you?" or "How do you cope with having such bad skin?"
- Stare at the blemishes of the person you’re speaking to.
- Point at a person with your index finger while you’re speaking to them. That’s the height of rudeness.
- Give the person you’re speaking to the "head-to-toe" stare making it obvious that you are scoping out her clothes, accessories and physical features.
- Talk about money - as in how much things cost, how much you make, how much your boyfriend makes. Dotto for asking people how much they spent on this, that or the other. (For example, "How much did you spend for the gift you gave me on my birthday?"
- Neglect to thank a person for a nice gesture or a gift.
- Criticize a gift in the pressence of the giver-for example: "This cake is a little dry, isn’t it?"
- Let a person know that you want to return or exchange a gift they gave you as well as ask them if they still have the receipt.
- Brag about your achievements, your money, your skills and go on and on about them.
- Be insensitive to the feelings of others by making tactless remakrs such as, "Im so glad I don’t have your probem."
- Give someone your opinion on an issue that’s really non of your business.
- Overstay at a party or other social gathering. When to leave? If you’re the last person there, and it’s been more than half an hour, leave you’ve already stayed too long.
