Why Not Speaking Is Better

The other day at the office, a coworker walked by my cubicle while showing a potential employee around. As she made her rounds, she introduced everyone to the candidate. When she got to me, she told the said candidate my name and then she said about me: "He's shy."

Why do people do that? Why try pointing out a person's most prominent character trait?

First of all, I'm not shy -- I'm an introvert. I felt like replying rudely, "I'm not shy. I just don't like you."

Secondly, it doesn't take much creativity or intelligence to frequently make note of a readily observable feature. It's like remarking that the sky is blue. Every single day. And if I were to take up the same habit, it would be the equivalent of introducing people thus: "Hi, this is Sally. She's fat." Or, "I'd like you to meet Bob. He never shuts up."

For extreme introverts like myself, I'm sure this is a common occurrence. In fact, this happened last week as well. Another coworker was showing someone around the office and, when she got to me, said, "He doesn't talk, so you'll never hear from him."

What the hell?

Sure, people think they're funny, but really they're just being insensitive and dull. It would be better if they said nothing at all. At least their silence would be a kindness to us all.