Individuals, especially in the mass media, are increasingly hedging what they’re about to say… with a prefacing text. The habit of guests exclaiming preemptive explanations such as look..! or listen…! prior to answering questions… rarely advances what’s coming next. When I was growing up… the most common prefacing behavior was someone saying… may I ask a question? The universal response… was well you just did!
Today there’s a latent desire to more than please… or be polite… there’s a growing effort to appear politically correct… while avoiding any trip-ups or negative skid. When potential confrontations lie ahead… to avert disapproval and disappointment… self-censure “prefaces…” offer a “turmoil preventing” key… that deliver apologies and “Mia Culpas”… via a defensive verbal “bended knee.”
Impending rejection and “embracing an ideology” are significant barriers to keeping one’s individuality from shining. With challenging matters posed… prefacing an answer is often seen as a verbal surfactant remedy that softens harshness and abruptness of a question’s unstable lining. Speakers also find comfort in believing that presented prefaces act as a buffering verbal ombudsman…delivering an atmosphere of empathy and sensitivity to a fickle audience… whether foe… or fan.
While a myriad of excuse may serve to fashion illusions that “verbal cocoons of advanced protection” are spun with each preface provided… the reality is… conversation justification… taints speaker integrity, first impressions, and authenticity leaving an audience’s acceptance confused and needlessly undecided.
When it comes to prefacing a position, issue, or belief…drama often replaces realism… apology replaces conviction… ego replaces credibility…and ideology replaces identity… all with no relief… It’s a Funny Feeling to know that clarity, credibility, and command of knowledge require no look… or listen… as a controlling PREFACE… Pointless preambles serve only to send confusing messages to an audience teetering in a wondering MESS…
Copyright 2018 Alan P. Xenakis, MD, Doc X MD and Audra RN Funny Feelings©
