Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Who do you want for a friend--Paula or Simon?


Okay, I just watched the results of American Idol tonight, and I was glad to see that my two favorites, Melinda and Blake, were safe. LaKisha went home, which is sad--she has a great story--but was the right choice.

It struck me as the judges went around and commented on who they thought would go home that Paula had read that stat about needing 10 positives for every 1 negative. Paula just encouraged the contestants, while Simon said bluntly that he thought LaKisha was going home.

True, even I find Paula a bit sickly sweet at times. And it seems she often fails to say the obvious--that someone stunk it up. I guess it just goes to show how hard it is to hold back sometimes. We think that we have to always say the obvious. But we don't.

We all need a little Simon in our lives sometimes. But most of the time, we probably want someone to encourage us rather than kick us in the shins. It may look weak when we look at it from afar, but if we were on stage in front of millions of people, we probably wouldn't want someone to say we were horrible, ghastly, or the like.

Who would you want as a friend--Paula or Simon?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think that you need postive criticism, but not mushy lying. I think there is a difference in someone trying to talk around a point and then someone who knows how to tactfully tell you a way to improve without it being too mushy or being insulting. I think Simon is very matter-of-fact, but is often too rude in what he says. I don't think anyone needs that, but he is often the most truthful, which makes people respect him. Shari D

James Nored said...

Hey Shari! Good to hear from you.

I think that you are "spot on" with your comments. Paula, rather than being positive, is "mushy." She will comment on looks or the like, rather than the voice, when someone stinks it up.

Simon is respected, I think because people know that he knows the business and is truthful. Even if he is unnecessarily rude or blunt.