40. Let’s Call It What It Is

Hello and welcome to Musing Interruptus. Thank you for clicking and thank you for listening. If you like this podcast and think someone else might like it, please feel free to share. Also, I love when you continue the conversation. You can leave a voice message on the Anchor website or write to me via Lucid Communication Academy’s Facebook or Instagram pages. That is one of the purposes of Musing Interruptus. There are phrases that indicate you should brace yourself; whatever is coming next is going to rock your world or maybe even turn it upside down. Whether it is an irreversible act, or plain bad news, there are words that when strung together, can feel like a blunt blow to the head or even the gut. Feeling the air is knocked out of you or maybe, that the air escaped the room leaving basic sounds that overwhelm the space or even the world. The kind of words that stop your heart and then throw your whole system into overdrive. Today on Musing Interruptus, Let’s Call It What It Is. Social conventions dictate we construct our discourse in such a way we prepare our interlocutors for what is coming. Generally, I believe this is a good practice. It helps the receptor of our message better understand what we want to say, not only in terms of explicit content but what is implicit. These phrases introduce difficult conversations, they imply that what is coming is perhaps uncomfortable and you most likely won’t like it. Phrases like, we need to talk, are a clear indication you need to brace yourself; the relationship is over. If your girlfriend says this, start thinking about what kind of breakup you want, get some ice cream, romcoms and update your Tinder account, a heartbreak is coming. I wish things could be different, meaning that whatever happened, probably can’t be reversed. I’m sorry to tell you or I regret to inform you implies rejection, maybe your work is toilet. Remember, that phrase doesn’t actually exist, but it might catch on. The phrase, I’m not going to lie to you, and you’d better sit down for this implies that what is coming up is bad. I’m not going to lie to you, your haircut is toilet. A phrase I’ve told several dogs after I’ve believed I can be a doggy stylist. My sister and husband have heard this phrase in the very same situation. You can’t see me, but I have an oops face. If you are at work and your boss says, we have to let you go, that means you are fired. And no, you are not in the position to say, oh, don’t worry, I can hold on. I’m calling it can be heard among doctors and surgeons who have to declare time of death. You might hear someone, in a different context say, I’m calling it, meaning, they are giving up on something, like a project or a specific outcome. You might get a call from someone shady, saying, it’s done, if they don’t say exactly what is done, you might have an indication it isn’t legal and, since they are reporting back to you, well, they did it on your behalf. Holy moly. Get an alibi, lose the phone, jump on a plane and get yourself to a non-extradition country and figure out the details later. Continue Reading