I am just emerging from a 3-day long meeting (OK, technically we were allowed to go home and sleep at night, but it really did feel like a 72-hour slow torture...), so please excuse my absence and the picture-less appearance of this blog.
Colour will make a comeback soon, I promise.
On the first day of the "cross-cultural" meeting, I went to introduce myself to a British guy I'd never met before. Let's call him "Steve", to preserve his privacy.
"Hello, are you Steve?" I asked.
"Oops, yes, why: who's asking?" quipped Steve, putting his hands up in mock surrender.
I laughed. Hard.
"Police!" I joked back, holding up my company badge in the manner of a Detective Inspector.
What a wit, hey?
The thing is: this seemingly minor exchange says SO much about us Brits.
It's that humour thing again, isn't it?
Two Brits, using humour to get over initial awkwardness and smooth the path towards conversation.
This is such a cultural curiosity for me: I don't think I have ever observed two French people (or any other nationality, for that matter) use this "social humour" in the same way, right from the outset.
Contrary to common misperceptions, the French DO have a good sense of humour, and I reckon most of them enjoy a laugh as much as the rest of us... but they wouldn't think it appropriate to use it quite so liberally, or be quite so "upfront".
In fact, I can almost guarantee that, if poor Steve uses his "oops, the game's up!" joke on an unsuspecting French person, well, he's going to hit a cultural hurdle head-on.
To put it simply, they'll think he's deranged.
But it's OK for two complete strangers, who both happen to be British, to laugh and joke and be silly from the first second they encounter each other. And most of their first chat will probably be marked by laughter, silliness and the odd bit of wink-wink sarcasm.
It's fun, it's acceptable, it's heart-warming, it is second nature for me.
But, outside of the UK, it really must be used with moderation.
No comments:
Post a Comment