Nevergirl’s

What’s with we-speak?

A friend told me it’s from the Carnegie School of How to Be More Likeable. Supposedly, the pronouns “we” and “us” show empathy, immediately establishing yourself as a friend, an ally. This makes we-speak a useful tool for interaction. I don’t know if I subscribe to this idea, though.

A woman I used to work with once had this plural first person phase, and everything she comes up with has a corporate-memo feel about it. For instance, “We would love it if you don’t sing to your Youtube clips loudly.” “We find the idea impractical.”

I can’t imagine We‘ing anybody with the same level of perpetuity unless this person occupies the same body as I. Moreover, I wonder if any parent actually raises a child on we-speak. If so, does the child grow up thinking she lives in a socialist collective?

This reminds me of the last ad I came across that utilized we-speak. I don’t remember feeling instant kinship with the people behind the ad. In fact, I remember feeling insulted. The ad was on a religious group-printed pamphlet, and it asked, “Can We Pray For You?”

What are they saying exactly—that I look like a walking repository of sin? I bristled over the presupposed moral ascendancy. So, I don’t know. To we speak or not to we speak? It’s all a matter of how you do it, I suppose. Just to be on the safe side of things, though, I plan to be extra careful when pronouncing my New Year benedictions today and just ditch the “we” altogether. My line? “God bless you, everyone!” Yep, God bless you everyone! I mean it, too.

Posted Blathers |