Is it Really “Awesome”? What’s the Hitch with Hyperbole?
While working at home recently, my internet connection went down. During the call to tech support to check out whether it was a coaxial cable problem or a router issue (how’s that for tech talk?), the technician asked me, “Can you tell me how many green lights are blinking on the router?”
That I could do: “Four.”
“Awesome,” he said. “Can you tell me which ones?”
“The first one. The third one. The fifth one. And the sixth one.”
“Fantastic!” he said. “Okay. Can you tell me how many cables are coming out of the back, and is it plugged in?”
“Three. The black power cord. Another short black cable labeled the coaxial cable. And a white cable.”
“Awesome! Now we’re rolling.”
At this point, with such accolades for my acute observations and reporting, I felt ready to do brain surgery.
Obviously, I’m not the only one who has become amused by the growing use of hyperbole. A reader wrote me recently:
Hello, Dianna,
Thank you very much for your powerful essay on communication in Leadership Excellence. My students and I are benefitting from it tremendously. Your counsel is spot on.
May I suggest an eleventh C? Be cool, calm, and collected. Not that we should purge our passions and become inhuman icebergs, but we need to watch out for exaggeration that undermines the legitimacy of our message. Too many of today’s rising generation live in a world of hyperbole that hinders our understanding of what they have to offer.
Perhaps you covered that in “Be Credible,” but it may bear a bit of further amplification.
All the best,
Gordon F. Holbein, Ph.D.
Senior Lecturer
Strategy & Leadership
The University of Kentucky
Now it’s Dr. Holbein who’s spot on. Even positive, upbeat language can ring hollow when exaggerated for the situation.
When I’m ninety four and can still troubleshoot my own internet connection problems, I may appreciate an “awesome” at counting four green blinking lights. But not just yet.
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