The Introverted World

Introverts commonly have little patience for small talk. Which is why I found this little blurb so amusing, from an article called, "How to Piss Off a Dane."

Tactic #1: Ask “How are you?”
I learned this one within days of moving to Denmark, and was fortunate enough to be clued in by a teacher the first time I made the mistake. 

The American phrase “how are you?” is a source of amusement for the Danes — it’s a big, fat joke that Americans ask this question in passing with no intention of stopping and listening to the response. If you want to make a friend, ask this question when you have 5-10 minutes to spare. Ask it merely in greeting/passing and that Dane will probably think you’re the most insincere person on the planet.

How many times do you pass someone in the hallway at work with a cursory, "Hey, how's it going?" or get a walk-by "Heyhowareya" from a colleague who doesn't even bother to stop long enough to hear you mumble the obligatory "Fine, howboutchu?"

Can we just admit that none of us care how anyone else is doing? And that the worse you feel yourself, the less you want to hear about someone else's weekend, or how nice the weather is for the fifteenth time that day, or really anything unimportant. There should be some sort of signal so people know when you're in one of those "need to know information only, please" moods.

In the meantime, I suggest we high-tail it to Denmark where minding your own business is an art form.