How To Stop Being Sarcastic (So You Can Stop Annoying People)

Words matter. How you say something communicates more than what you say and your tone greatly impacts how your words are perceived.

As you probably already know from experience, kind and gentle tones are welcoming while snarky or sarcastic tones rarely go over well.

It’s crucial to recognize your tone and know how to control it to appropriately convey your message.

Sarcasm is mainly used to say the opposite of what’s true and is often used to make the other person feel off-guard or foolish. Sarcasm has a bite or bitterness in the words that comes across as rude.

Witty is good, sarcastic often is not. Do you want to come across as obnoxious, passive-aggressive, offensive, rude or angry?

Communication is 7% verbal and 93% non-verbal, which includes facial expressions, gestures, postures, and tone. Sarcasm falls in the area of tone.

Tone makes up 38% of communication, which makes it one of the most important factors to influence how we convey our opinion, feelings, and thoughts.

If you thank someone with a sarcastic tone, it may be perceived as insulting or angry. A sarcastic tone in verbal or written communication is most often going to be perceived in a negative way.

It’s common to miss the mark when aiming for a public-appropriate or diplomatic tone. Off-the-cuff comments communicated with a sarcastic tone can alienate others, inspire retaliation and ruin reputations and relationships.