Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is to smile with your words. If you're
wearing a face mask, nobody can see your friendly smile
behind it. So whether you're with friends or family, or
(00:26):
colleagues or strangers, if you want them to know you're smiling,
you've got to say something to make that clear. Face
masks have become standard attire in many parts of the
US in the world right now. Important for keeping us safe,
but a little challenging for communicating. Non Verbal cues convey
(00:47):
a lot of meaning, and some of that meaning is
quite literally hidden by our face masks. Some research has
found that emails are often perceived more negatively than the
writer intended because there's no smile, ile, or happy voice
cues to soften the words. Something similar happens with talking
behind a mask, And if we're outdoors and wearing sunglasses,
(01:09):
are smiling eyes are hidden too, all the more reason
to focus on what we say. So when you are
wearing a mask, make a point of communicating positive emotions verbally.
Make sure the people you interact with understand what you
mean and since you probably want most of your interactions
to be upbeat, use words to convey positive attitudes and emotions.
(01:35):
This doesn't have to be hard, and it doesn't have
to feel falsely sunny either. I figured out a few
years ago that I should write my emails and then
go back in and put positive phrases at the beginning
and the end to make sure that anything that wasn't
supposed to be critical wasn't perceived as being. So, you
know these type of phrases. I hope you're having a
(01:56):
wonderful day. I'm so happy to be working with you.
I really appreciate your taking the time to deal with us. Similarly,
when you're in conversation with someone, put words around your
response to indicate your positive emotions. Got it, This is great. Thanks,
sounds like a solid plan. I appreciate your hard work
on this. When you would usually smile to indicate that
(02:20):
your understanding and supporting what your conversation partner is saying,
translate that smile into words that mean the same thing.
Smiling with words is also essential for greeting people when
we're masked. Pre COVID, it was totally warm and friendly
to smile and nod as a greeting. These days, a
smile and a nod behind a mask and sunglasses looks
(02:44):
exactly the same as a snub, and that's no good,
So go for a verbal smile instead. It can be
as simple as saying good morning to the dog walker
you encounter every day in the elevator in your building.
At the grocery store, just say nice to see you
to the per so you see behind the butcher's counter
every week, at your office or other places with people
(03:05):
you know, A simple hey Joe will do, but get
in the habit of saying something. Long time listeners may
remember that back in February. I encourage you to greet
people with a smile, something Audrey Monkey advises in her
book Happy Campers. Summer camps are some of the happiest
and most relentlessly positive places around, and Monkey draws on
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lessons from camp for making our other environments and interactions
happier too. Smiles are one way to do that. February
feels like a really long time ago, but I'd venture
to say that the sense of happiness and connection that
a smile offers this is valuable now as ever, so
when the smile on your face can't be seen. Smile
(03:51):
with your words. Instead, the people around you will feel
a bit more cheerful, and hopefully you will too. In
the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's
to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd
(04:15):
love to hear from you. You can send me your tips,
your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter,
Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod that's B the
number four, then Breakfast p o D. You can also
shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i
heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out
(04:38):
with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward
to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of
I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from my heart Radio,
visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
you listen to your favorite shows. I do get