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July 13, 2005
Talking to the Speaker
Why do people say "Good Morning" back to a speaker when they're told the same at the beginning of a speech? From what I understand, it's not like we're part of an infomercial."And do you know what else it can do?" (with the crowd responding) "What else can it do?!". Unless there is some sort of prior agreement to respond as an audience member, do the rest of us a favor, and shut it.
Imagine Jamie Foxx getting up at the Oscars to accept his award for best actor in Ray. He stands up there, all emotional and everything, and say "Wow… uh, good evening, uh… this is an honor…", but before he can go any further, the whole crowd says "Good evening" in response. He'd never even get to the latter part there before he'd start doing an awkward laugh, and not really know how to respond. Such would be the case in most other places.
I'll give it to you that some people actually expect the response. Generally they're trying to be engaging, or involved with the people that they're talking to. We've already talked about the infomercial example. Another would be one of those preachers or something that says the classic line of "Can I get a witness from the congregation?". That's a dead give-away for a response. But if you're giving a dissertation on something, and tell the group "good morning" when you walk in… if they all responded in unison, you might start second-guessing that educational institution. Imagine that happening after somebody has stood to give a eulogy.
In short, I'm glad that there are friendly people out there. It's better than some of the other options of people. But please do us a favor, don't be happy to the rest of us, and keep your responses to yourself.