Jun
27
I read an interesting article in Real Simple Magazine called 18 Common Phrases to Avoid in Conversation… therefore I thought I would share one through four with you today… and the others in the coming weeks…
What Not To Say About Someone’s Appearance
Don’t Say: “You look tired.”
Why: It implies she doesn’t look good.
Instead Say: “Is everything OK?” We often blurt the “tired” comment when we get the sense that the other person feels out of sorts. So just ask.
Don’t Say: “Wow, you’ve lost a ton of weight!”
Why: To a newly trim person, it might give the impression that she used to look unattractive.
Instead Say: “You look fantastic.” And leave it at that. If you’re curious about how she got so svelte, add, “What’s your secret?”
Don’t Say: “You look so good for your age.”
Why: Anything with a caveat like this is rude. It’s saying, “You look great — compared with other old people. It’s amazing you have all your own teeth.”
Instead Say: “You look great.”
Don’t Say: “I could never wear that.”
Why: It can be misunderstood as a criticism. (“I could never wear that because it’s so ugly.”)
Instead Say: “You look so good in skinny jeans.” If you slip, say something like “I could never wear that…because I wasn’t blessed with your long legs.”
Expert: Clinton Kelly, cohost of the TLC show, What Not to Wear.
I think that pretty much all comments related to physical appearance should be off limits. When we affirm (even with appropriate comments) people on something based on physical appearance, we never know if we are indirectly encouraging poor behaviors such as eating disorders, wearing clothing that person may not be able to afford, plastic surgery, etc. Therefore, I think it’s safer to save positive comments for character traits