You stay at the bottom of the gossip food chain and have no predators on the look out for candid remarks they can use against you later. Learn about us. May 29, 2012 9:16 AM Subscribe In my job, a lot of the time I have individuals feign incompetence so that they will not have to get their hands dirty and take care of their own problems. ‘It's too much work for me to play dumb.’ ‘Bryce was no dope, he should have figured it out, maybe he was just playing dumb.’ ‘He tried playing dumb, hoping David would just leave it alone.’ ‘He kept putting me off, and I kept teasing him, playing dumb.’ ‘I'm at their mercy, so I play dumb.’ Read on to learn how it works. Dumb People Play Status Games, Smart People Play Freedom Games “Ignore people playing status games. With the co-worker who takes credit for your work, you can try, “I had no idea we were on the exact same page about X. It does, for example, make it clearer that the responsibility for the question is their own - they should not post any old nonsense and expect others to do all the lifting to make it work as a question. So, before you launch into a counter-attack, ask for clarification. A: "Did Tammy ask you about my date with Steve?" Picture this: A teammate—or worse, your boss—suggests the worst idea you’ve ever heard. 1) Argue why acting dumb is a smart move to get ahead. The idiot is usually forgiven for their blunders. “playing dumb”) and/or feigning innocence. Now, who do think is more likely to build inroads with George? Yet people commit fraud to do just that. I hadn’t heard that.” Then you enter the meeting truly acting like you’ve never heard that before. But don’t overplay your hand. But for the rest of us, the best bet is often not to get involved. If you act in your own best interest instead of being selfless or acting for the benefit of the group, others would just expect you didn’t know any better. This is a great thing to remember if you want to stay sane around dumb people, especially if you're dealing with a person you will have to see a lot, like a classmate or a co-worker. I started playing the role of the idiot at work when I realized nobody takes you seriously until you are at least 30 years old and I do not work in academia where it is essential to my job to convince others I am smart. You never say anything disagreeable or offensive. marketing Jobs marketing. If there are red flags jumping out at you, odds are they may be in your colleague’s blind spot (or, the overwhelming benefits aren’t yet clear to you). You will have job security because nobody fires the idiot. 3) Share three personal examples of how acting duhhh, has helped in work, stress management, and relationships. I admit it is a fun role to play and it has become a survival technique at work. If that doesn’t work you can always pretend to not understand what they are talking about. "Playing dumb" is a social means of avoiding the impression of arrogance which still allows oneself not to be bored to death by trivial conversation. 7. software engineering Jobs engineering. But are they really dopey, or just purposefully blundering all way to the bank? “I just realized something about you,” he said. While you can’t play that card once you’ve been somewhere for months or years, you can always ask for more information. Playing dumb means that you’re willing to let something go so that the relationship stays intact. In a setting where your goal is to show how capable you are, why would you ever want to downplay your brilliance? Feigning naiveté is also a great way to approach difficult personalities. To pretend to be mute.. 1904, Rex Ellingwood Beach, "The Mule Driver and the Garrulous Mute," in Pardners, I played dumb 'cause I knew if I talked at all, being simple and guileless, you all would twist me up and have the whole thing in a jiffy. If you are playing role of the idiot you can get out of most problems by saying “I don’t know”. B: "Yeah, but I played dumb about it. Did I miss something during our check-in?”. A few years ago I was on a lunch break at work when my co-worker Jason walked in and darted in my direction without making eye contact or greeting anybody. A smart person playing dumb or just acting goofy in general can lead to hilarious moments in the house or the DR. This approach is good for other common workplace annoyances. Three different types of this behaviour were explored including being evasive, rationalized hiding (such as saying a report is confidential) and playing dumb. 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