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| that's my own left hand. it looks soo small, somehow |
During my high school years, the juniors (Form 1) were required to greet the seniors with 'Assalmualaikum kak!' So the first year we chorus it out as cheerful as we can with a smile on our face and high pitched voice.. hehehe. . it was a good practice because if we say it with a sour face, the greeting will sound flat and one or two seniors will give us the evil eye (brrr..scary!). After Form 1, we were so used to it, the greeting was replaced by a smile or a nod because we came to recognize the people around us (there were in total, more or less 600 students only!)
So now, even though I'm a bit shy, it is not hard for me to give a simple 'Hi!' or 'Hello'. If I don't know them that well, a simple smile or a nod would do. Recent years, I settled for the 'raising eyebrows' technique, it works for people I recognize but don't have anything interesting to talk about.
Caution : Please avoid smiling aimlessly to suspicious looking people. We might get a nasty surprise that will end with a tight slap from ourselves or to us! Oh yeah, if a salesperson smile and greet you just smile back and politely say no. It takes a lot of effort to do that but its worth it.
2. please (boleh tolong?)
A typical scene in a family series/sitcoms (at the dinner table)
Boy : Mom, pass me the salt
Mom takes the salt but refuses to give it to her son
Mom : What do you say? What is the magic word?
Boy : Er, pass me the salt, please?
Mom : Much better
Mom smiles and surrenders the salt.
This was when plots were basic and simple, concerntrating on the values. It doesn't hurt to remind ourselves to ask politely the other person to do something. Plus the other person will feel less likely to throw the salt to our face.
3. thank you (terima kasih)
Most people in the customer service industry knows how powerful this magic word is. Yes, we are paid to do our work and service for other people. And it is much sweeter when we do it because we care, for other people and ourselves. By saying thank you, or at the receiving end of it, it is a type of positive reinforcement and we would go an extra mile for the people we entertain.
Let's upgrade what we already are doing and make it more memorable. Based on a book that I've read, How Talk Anyone : 92 Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationship by Leil Lowndes, people will take notice and remember us better if we say what we are thanking them for. So let's say, 'Thank you for opening the door for me' and 'Thanks for the information'.
I've also noticed by saying specifically what I am thankful for it makes me think really hard and aware of what that the other person has unselfishly done for me. Awesome. It's like the gift that keeps on giving.
4. excuse me (maaf mengganggu)
It is really sad while eating in a restaurant, people from the other table start to 'sweet*' to get the attention of the waiter when we had a variety of nicknames we can choose from. Saying 'excuse me' maybe sound too formal for us to use at the mamak stalls but the whole point is too remain respectful. I can bet anyone who used to work in the F&B industry knows how disrespectful that sound. Call them Ane, Abang, Adik or a maybe the infamous Boss.
*sweet: not the sweet that we put in our mouth to enjoy and can cause cavity if indulged but the sound mimicking a cencurut or Malayan Mole
"Excuse me, you're blocking my view" "Excuse me, I can't stand your ciggarette smoke" "Excuse me, your blog is too long" ops! hehehe
5. sorry (saya berasa menyesal)
'Sorry seems to be the hardest word,' said Elton John & the boy band Blue . Well, it shouldn't be, right? This the only magic word that is not at the tip of my tongue. It seems weird that I find it easier to swallow my pride and ask forgiveness from my love ones rather than people who are not close to me (acquaintance). But with strangers its easy. I got it backwards don't I? hahaha. . . . still, I am a believer that we have to forgive from our hearts and be sincere about it. Don't say we have forgiven someone but kept mentioning it again and again and again.That is a sign that we haven't forgiven that person yet!
It would be great if we can apply the same rule that we applied on our 'Thank you for......' with our apology. It is one of the guidelines of asking for fogiveness in Islam, right?