Yesterday I was hanging about with a senior civil servant (very senior) and some other high muckety-mucks.
They were going on about how the Labour party - and indeed Britain - would miss Tony Blair when he was gone. That is, we'd miss him in comparison after we've had a while with the dour Gordon Brown (the current Chancellor and heir apparent to the UK Premiership). They talked about Tony Blair's superstar quality - how he lights up a room, how after he's smiled at you, you want to swear off washing.
The civil servant said he'd been in a teeny-tiny lift with Gordon Brown and Brown didn't look at him, didn't make eye contact and didn't even say hello. This to a man who'd been in hours long meetings with the Chancellor and was just about to be in a two-hour meeting with him again.
I don't like Gordon Brown, but I had to acknowledge that I'd do something like that. Not every day, mind, but on one of my bad days I'd be quite likely to do something just like that. The senior civil servant was flabbergasted. I can understand why he felt that way - he doesn't know me and I was doing some presenting and facilitating yesterday - and was very much "on" - friendly and confident. But I've stood in line at the local grocery store next to a quite senior regulator, who I know and like and have worked on projects with and not looked at or acknowledged him until forced to. That was on a bad day. I wasn't deliberately blanking him, though. Truth be told, I didn't actually recognise him til he kinda waved his hand in front of my face.
I don't want to be like that. I just know that I sometimes am. That's why I can't go into politics - at least not in a "face" position. On a bad day, I'd offend constituents. Without meaning to. So I understand Gordon Brown, maybe, but unlike him I wouldn't dream of becoming a politician.
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My husband says that he has a lift-recognition policy. The Vol-in-Law says he will acknowledge, smile and say hello to anyone in an elevator that he recognises by face or anyone who is wearing a suit. He says this has always worked out for him.
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2 comments:
I practice different attitudes on different days. The days I smile, make eye contact and generally treat human interaction as a luxury are always the days I get most of what I want or have asked for. Only times I won't do any of the above is on a greasy hair day. Then all etiquette is out the window and I bury myself in my scarf!
Found you on the tube!
Lola x
I always offer the greeting of the day with as sincere a smile as I can manage to anyone who deigns to make eye contact with me. And I'm always ready to make eye contact. You never know when that smiling "good morning" will be the best thing that's gonna happen to that person all day.
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