It would be fair to say that there have been several times in my life when I have smiled, smirked, snorted and even laughed at completely inappropriate times.

credit: Phil Dragash

It’s bad enough that this has happened, but what makes it worse is that I really honestly don’t mean to! And it really honestly sounds pathetic when I’m trying to explain that to the person who has just received my erroneous smirk!

These are not particularly proud moments in my life, however here are a couple examples:

When I was 14 I visited Heron Island. While we were there, my older brother and I met some guys that were around our age that we started hanging out with. Wouldn’t you know it, a girl came on the scene! I don’t remember her name, but as I recall we became rather obsessed with this teenage wonder that was also holidaying with her parents. While most of our encounters with this girl were from a distance, we talked constantly about going and talking to her & tried to come up with plausible excuses to meet her (you know, amazingly innovative lines like “hi there - just wondering if you know where the pool is?” etc).

Anyway, my brilliant moment came when all of us guys rounded a corner on a narrow hinterland path and the girl was coming towards us.

credit: Claudio.Ar - Hermes

We all became silent until the moment she passed us, which was also the exact moment I let out a burst of laughter! I laughed! Thinking about it now, I can still hardly believe it. And, it was one of those I was just holding that in bursts, which made it so much worse! Needless to say, the guys were FURIOUS with me for wrecking a chance to make a good impression, and basically wouldn’t talk to me for several days!

Another superb moment was when my wife was angry with me - I had not been helpful with cleaning up in the kitchen, and she was (in hindsight, rightfully!) telling me what I should have done to help. After she became more worked up, and I was more in the doghouse, I did the unthinkable - a progressively widening smile spread across my face! Doh!

It happened so many times at school that I won’t bore you with the details, but needles to say I heard “It’s NOT funny!” many times in my life…

I think it becomes even harder to control if the person I’m talking to becomes worked up or angry, for some reason I smile! I smirk! I laugh! I even sometimes go to smile a little when I hear something bad has happened or when I’m feeling upset. It’s happened before during my attempts at parenting - I’ve been in the middle of talking seriously to my daughter about something, and wrecked it completely by smiling! It’s as if it is some kind of coping mechanism kicks in when it shouldn’t.

credit: Hermin

What’s wrong with that, you say? Everything! It never goes well for me in most cases. It belittles the person, shows them how little respect you have for them and infuriates them even further! Because of this ridiculous condition, I’ve had to go so far as developing a few ways to cover up. And so, without further ado, here it comes:

My tips regarding smiling when you really shouldn’t be!

1. As you smile, say something complimentary to the person and apologise eg “You’ve worked really hard, I’m sorry…”

2. If you feel a smile coming on, stop looking at the person for a while - you can unpack the dishes or do something else to look busy, whatever you do - don’t maintain eye contact!

credit: rebreakfast

3. Make out that you’re scoffing at yourself, eg (laughter) “I can’t believe I did that!”

4. Think about the other person and how they feel, rather than concentrating on your own smiling.

5. Grit your teeth hard until the feeling subsides. Also, things like coughing or wiping at the mouth can sometimes help.

6. Picking at your teeth is also one way to divert attention and get your mind off it.

Seriously though, is it just me who has ever laughed at inappropriate times? Certainly I feel like I’m the odd one out at times! See an interesting post I discovered by Ravi Vora, or some Wiki tips also.