Mmm…

My mother taught me many things, but the one lesson I use on a daily basis is what I call “The Power of Mmm…”

When I was young, she explained to me that people always want to think that you agree with them. Therefore, when they say something outrageous or silly or downright stupid, and you don’t have the energy or the desire to get into a debate, you simply respond, “Mmm…” and it’s like a get out of jail free card.

They will interpret your response as, “I couldn’t agree more!” or “How fascinating!” and they’ll be satisfied and move on to other things.

In fact, my mmm could be interpreted in a variety of ways. For example, it might mean, “Oh my God, please shut up, you idiot.” That’s the kind of mmm I give when someone says something like, “You know, Biden stole the election…”

It’s also my stock response when someone starts talking about sports. In that case, mmm means “Rah, rah, rah. Yay team. Whatever.”

When a coworker said, “I once ate manatee meat,” my mmm was a desperate attempt to not react in horror about something that happened in the past that can’t be changed and is likely to never happen again (thank goodness).

I’ve also used mmm as a response to “Do these shorts make me look fat?” or “Isn’t he cute?” or “I sure do miss polyester bellbottoms!”

And the older I get, the more mmm becomes, “I wasn’t really paying enough attention to weigh in on this topic.”

The only downside to the mmm gambit is that once you employ it regularly, you quickly realize that most people don’t really care what you think. They just want to be heard and validated, and if you provide just enough framework, they’ll do all the heavy lifting themselves.

Try it. You’ll be amazed at how effective it is. Consider it a free gift from my mom.

Mmm…

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