Is this true of all men? I suspect so. There are subtleties to communication at which women are just far better.
A while back I wrote on my Facebook page that a mom who spotted me on the playground after school said, “I didn’t even recognize you. You’re hair looks so good you look like a different person.”
Eileen Kelly
We’ll call that mom Mom B. That’s B for bitchy.
The next day a few moms who had read my FB post were sharing "backhanded compliment” stories while our kids played on the playground after school. One of the other moms (we’ll call her Mom A) said, “So who was it that made that catty comment to you?”
Just then Mom B approached and joined the group.
Mom A hardly knows me, and yet when I made the smallest gesture, casting my eyes downward and giving an almost imperceptible nod to let her know she should drop the subject, she did so instantly.
It’s not like Mom A and I have been together for fifteen years and have a secret code word or signal for when a social situation is going south. She just picked up on the universal body language in which women are fluent and men seem to be sorely impaired.
When we’re in a social setting and my husband doesn’t introduce me to the person he’s talking to, I assume he’s forgotten their name and I introduce myself. When the situation is reversed, I can count on my husband (we’ll call him DJ Smoove) to say something like, “Well? Aren’t you going to introduce us?”
Is it innate? Can men be coached in this area? What’s your experience?
Eileen Kelly was a semi-finalist in Nick at Nite’s “Search for the Funniest Mom in America,” and made a name for herself with " My Pony's in the Garage," which premiered at the NY Fringe Festival. She is currently writing a memoir based on her solo show and has written several treatments and spec scripts for television. She likes Springsteen, cheap beer and good Italian bread. Did we mention she’s from Jersey?
