Carol Yip

What Grinds Our Gears: Saying “no offence” to soften the blow of an insult

By: Tiffany Chang, Peak Associate Lately, I’ve been getting better at taking criticism, especially when it's constructive. I think this kind of honest feedback helps people grow. However, criticism can often take a nasty or offensive turn. What drives me up the wall is when someone says “no offence” after mentioning something hurtful to their counterpart. My question is this: why do people think saying “no offence” mitigates the offensiveness of their insults? I find it astoundingly contradictory. It's like trying to soak up a diarrhea accident with one toilet paper square. You know for certain it isn’t enough to clean…

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