The benefits of being polite
It is so impolite to be late to an event and then walk in as if you are 15 minutes early then go on to greet everybody and disrupt the entire event by your very arrival.
In today’s modern world, there are prices for being rude. This is considered a very important way to be by a percentage of the younger generation which is a pity.
1) Greeting: When we were growing up, it was very important to greet people who are older than you and to accord them their due whether you knew them or not but today most young people would not only eyeball you without greeting and some will actually say something which is inaudible. I have never understood the benefit one can derive from not greeting one’s a) superior officer b) Elder statesmen) Persons older than you d)Even your peers.
Why should one go around the world with the title of “that grumpy boy over there” or “that rude girl”?
Greeting is ingrained in our cultural DNA as Africans and should be taken on board by all. The benefits are endless.
2) Being saucy: I have never understood why people should be saucy. What manner of person hisses when you say Hello or is in a habit of just constantly starting a quarrel for no reason? A calm demeanour and an attitude of good behaviour cannot be overemphasised. Your life’s success and your life’s journey are assured if one is amiable and polite.
3) The most impolite thing I know is failure to be thankful. I know many people who simply do not say “Thank you” and because they do not say thank you for anything at all they are considered self entitled and generally disrespectful. If someone does you a good turn it is expected that you show gratitude by your thankfulness. These days however people tend to move on after they get what they want and then they simply act like they have never received any favour from you by turning up a year later to ask for another favour. This really bad attitude in case you do not know points you out as an ingrate, as ridiculous, self entitled, a narcissist, and fairly mad. Really what were you thinking, that the person who assisted you a year ago, who you offered no thanks has suffered selective amnesia and does not remember? Do you honestly think that this person has no relations? No friends? And no friends’ children to help?
So you are doing them a favour by them assisting you abi? In fact they should be thanking you. Isn’t it baffling that when you request for this new favour a year later without any thankfulness after the first favour a year before, you are perplexed when the person says no to you? In fact I hear some people say in anger after they have been denied assistance the second time “Is it not that small job that I asked him to give me? Imagine the man is even showing off sef”. Please correct me if am wrong when I define this as madness.
4) Interruptions: I have never understood why people tend to interrupt other people in the middle of a decent conversation. I have also never understood why when given a speaking opportunity, some people go on and on and on without caring whether there are 20 people in the room waiting to speak after them. At a two hours event you are given an intervention moment and you want to speak for 15 minutes and it is just a comment or a question. This is not right. I consider it rude, crude and disrespectful to other people in the room.
5) Not keeping to time: It is so impolite to be late to an event and then walk in as if you are 15 minutes early then go on to greet everybody and disrupt the entire event by your very arrival. When you are late please quietly sit by the door and do not draw attention to yourself.
6) Staring: I understand it when the English insist that you don’t stare at them because it is rude. As a public figure, I often encounter people who just stare and stare without saying a word because I have been on television for so many years. I can understand when people are trying to establish if it is truly me and stare a little. But when you decide to just make a habit of staring at people, it is impolite. It is horrible when you stare too long at a physically challenged person. When you stare at a couple having a public fight, it is simply rude.
7) Eavesdropping: What exactly are you doing when you inch forward to listen to somebody’s telephone conversation. It will define you as a gossip. Do not do it.
8) Reading my Newspaper over my shoulder: Either ask that I loan you the paper to read if I have another or simply buy your own.
Being polite does not mean saying yes to everything. It reflects our personality, makes us look bigger, brighter and powerful. You must however never over commit or accept things beyond your deliverables. Being polite makes you approachable and easy to talk to, prompts assistance from strangers and improves working environment. Overall, it gives you a positive aura. Politeness gives you an edge whatever you do. Embrace it.