Nothing can stop you from cursing, it?s the only pleasure in life that doesn?t cost money. Organisations may need to pay attention to these flashpoints in society where emotions run high. They can become entry points for business. Abusive communication is the psychological, sociological and anthropological essence of human emotion. People curse in excitement or in stress; such emotions loosen their purse strings to spend money as well. A product or service offer would do well to be associated here. It is very rare for people to curse in bereavement. A curse is a sutra, a process. Civilised society may want to hide it, but a curse is the most enjoyed, used and abused expression in every social level in every country. I have identified six internationally recognisable curse sutras.
* Anger curse: People react to anger through physical aggression or use the weapon of the curse. A curse erupts spontaneously when holding the steering wheel in a traffic jam. A curse can convey very deep and heart-rendering meanings in different countries. When a very important thought needs to be put into words, but articulation is poor, how do you bridge the gap? In France, for example, when a corporate meeting lengthens to become a marathon session, the topic discussed threadbare with no solution, people describe it as ?enculer les mouches?, meaning, ?we have tortured ourselves enough to f? a mosquito?.
* The extreme welcome curse: I have a fascination for the Punjabi society in India. They are frank, joyful and open. At a very serious corporate meeting one day, a senior executive stepped out of the conference room perhaps for a bio-break. Suddenly, we could hear some scuffle-like loud thumping noise outside, and choice uncivil words: ?Saale paape! Kya haal chaal hai, behen??! Tu kaha mar gaya tha?? (?You so-and-so! How have you been, you sister…! Where were you dead for so long??) Shocked, I rushed out in concern. The scene that greeted me is indelible in my mind. Two well-built, handsome, Punjabi men in suits, back-thumping, beaming, hugging each other tight, exchanging a string of diatribes in total congenial surrender. I discovered in them the extreme welcome curse. That bosom friend you are so fond of, when he shows up after a long duration or makes a fraternal move that brings you extreme pleasure or benefit, you will respond with an emotional curse. This is a token of love and intimacy between two long-lost buddies.
* Depression curse: A curse-filled monologue is an effective antibiotic solution for despondency because any opportunity to curse gets rid of the undesired down-in-the dumps feeling. No management theory to date has recognised that consumers love the language of the curse.
* Socio-cultural colloquialism curse: Curse words used in normal dialogue brighten up a conversation, making it punchier. I entered the cheery world of Greek curses through one of my clients in Athens. While researching consumers throughout Greece, I often heard the word ?malaca? accompanied with great laughter and bonhomie. I don?t speak Greek, but I knew this was an important thread in their cultural fabric. I discover that malaca means ass??.
In various interactions in the client?s organisation, we would start in English and after some time they would chatter away in Greek. Once I got fed up and shouted, ?malaca!? You can?t believe the appreciation I got.
Coming as I did from France, they had considered me somehow different from them.
The curse immediately put me on even keel, making me an insider in their midst.
* Intense sexual act curse: Let me illustrate this curse sutra by narrating an unbelievably intimate experience I perchance saw in Paris. Internationally reputed painters frequented the lithography studio I worked in. A famous French painter used to bring his model, a beautiful, slim African woman. When everybody was out at lunch, they would go to the print shop?s first floor room adjacent to my workplace, and I would hear loud shouts interspersed with whispering sounds. Later, I learned that the passionate utterances were awash with the choicest expletives. During normal social interaction, this artist is never intense, never uses vulgar language. But sex inspires him to reach the heights of coarse speech. Here, the curse becomes intimate articulation at a very personal level.
* Over-intoxicated curse: When people drink more than they can stomach, intoxication makes them spiritual, aggressive or romantic. Strangely enough, these states also bolster their courage to swear unabashedly. In a prime-time variety programme on French television, Serge Gainsbourg, a renowned and revered French singer, artist, poet and writer, came on stage to greet special guest Whitney Houston. Taking her hand, in a heavy French accent, he very softly said, ?I wanth thu f?- yu.? The audience gasped because he spoke English on French TV, something he?s never done. With a ?What? What? What??, Houston pretended she didn?t understand him; the TV presenter tried to deviate from the subject, but Gainsbourg repeated himself. With a public image of being overtly intoxicated with cigarettes and alcohol, Gainsbourg imposed a philosophical abusive character on French culture, which is still minting money for the French entertainment business.
No university in the world has taken care to make a ?one world curse book? with explanations about the moment and circumstances of articulating these expletives. Such cross-country, cross-cultural insight is rich material for organisations to understand consumer sensitivity. The curse sutra will help in selling durable products, automobiles, FMCG, cosmetics, fashion, or IT hardware, because it has high association with human lifecycle, lifestyle and trend.
?Shombit Sengupta is an international creative business strategy consultant to top managements. Reach him at http://www.shiningconsulting.com