Athenian200
Protocol Droid
- Joined
- Jul 1, 2007
- Messages
- 8,856
- MBTI Type
- INFJ
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- 4w5
Okay, I will try again, they both described situations where they said "hello" to someone and that someone gave them no response, looked right at them and gave them no response.
That's a totally cut and dried situation. It is actually called a "cut direct."
I replied that I DO say "hello" when someone says it to me. ( and yes this includes all the various forms of that hi, howdy, Yo, hey, good morning, whatzup, how's it hanging...whatever. )
In fact, I will say "hi" to everyone who makes eye contact with me some place like work, even though I often really would rather not. But this is not enough for some people!
I will tend to stick to "hi" and then say "fine, how are you" when people follow up with the how are you. What more should be expected? How much further should I be expected to go into this before you will "accept" my word that I am not talking about completely ignoring people, cutting them direct?
So if there is another version of not ingoring someone who says hello, that does not include me saying a greeting back, share this with me because I don't understand it.
You're oversimplifying it. No, you're not literally ignoring them, but if you don't use the right inflection, it will come across as forced, and if it comes across as forced, the person will think that either you're unhappy, or they've offended you. You could well be saying it in a tone that's somewhat distant or tired, which implies that you're frustrated or irritated to see them, rather than happy to see them. If you say it too neutrally, it could come across as sarcastic or cold. In fact, if you say it too nicely, you could seem sort of guilty or as if you're "trying too hard." You have to say it with a bit of cheer, but not too much. I don't know what scenario was put forth, but saying hello is more complex than just saying it. There's even a different way you're supposed to react to someone depending on whether they're higher than you, lower than you, or equal to you in status. You have to say it the right way in order for them to know you don't dislike them.