724 – Being Impolite in Conversation
Angela: Ugh! I hate talking to Rebecca. Every time I ask her a question, she ignores me or sneers at me.
Ronny: Are you sure it’s not your imagination? She’s perfectly nice to me.
Angela: It’s not my imagination. When I try to tell her something, she cuts me off. When I try to explain something to her, she’s short with me or talks over me. I always get the feeling that she’s looking down her nose at me.
Ronny: Maybe she feels threatened by you.
Angela: How so?
Ronny: You’re younger, smarter, and better educated. She might feel like you’re after her job.
Angela: But I’m not! I just started here and I don’t have any designs on replacing her.
Ronny: And you’re prettier than she is.
Angela: What does that have to do with anything, even if it were true?
Ronny: Well, she’s had a thing for me for a while and…
Angela: And she thinks I’m her competition. No wonder she’s so standoffish with me. I’ll just make it clear that I won’t stand in her way.
Ronny: You won’t?
Angela: Huh?
Ronny: Never mind.