Use of Sarcasm
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At least once a week, I see people’s responses to another person’s post online and wish we had a “sarcasm font.” Years ago, I started adding #Sarcasm or #BitterSarcasm to anything I posted that I meant sarcastically. Even then, it sometimes isn’t enough.
Sarcastic tone makes the statement mean the opposite of the literal meaning of the words. It does not translate for everyone in text, so people don’t know the statement was meant sarcastically.
Some people pick up on tone in verbal statements really well. They will know when you are saying something sarcastically. But there are many people who actually don’t hear it.
As leaders, we need to avoid using a lot of sarcasm. We will lose credibility with many of the people who don’t hear the tone (e.g., “s/he doesn’t say what s/he means.”). And some of the people will hear the tone, know it’s sarcasm, and think we are, well, MEAN. The line between “funny sarcasm” and “mean sarcasm” is in different places for different people, and if you use a lot of sarcasm, you probably don’t see that line. It’s better to avoid it.
(Photo by Ashley Jurius on Unsplash)