Tag: caring what others think

The Party Line

I remember reading in a psychology book, a simple but intriguing quiz in which one presents the following scenario to a friend:

You are at a party, everyone is chatting and enjoying some food and drink. For some reason, you are called away and leave the room.

What do you think that the guests are now saying about you?

I tossed this out to Frasier and Niles when they were hanging out having a beer with me in the kitchen one airless, summer evening. Niles really struggled and couldn’t come up with much. He questioned why they would be thinking anything at all and laughed that he didn’t much care anyway as he loped across to the fridge. Frasier, on the other hand, frowned and shrugged, shifting about in his chair; but when pressed, he admitted that he thought they would most likely be thinking: Hey, who brought THAT guy?

Which made us laugh. A lot.

For myself, I wondered if there might be a universal discussion as to how particularly unattractive I was.

SPOILER ALERT: Try it yourself before reading any further: what do YOU think these guests would be saying?

Read More