# Is It Better to Be Civil or Candid?

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-school-of-life-7778042/is-it-better-to-be-civil-or-candid
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-school-of-life-7778042/is-it-better-to-be-civil-or-candid.md
Podcast: [The School of Life](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-school-of-life-7778042)
Published: 2026-05-29T08:30:00+00:00
Episode link: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/VG8968415704.mp3?updated=1778678777
Audio file: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/VG8968415704.mp3?updated=1778678777
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-school-of-life-7778042/episodes/is-it-better-to-be-civil-or-candid
Duration seconds: 832

## Resource

We live in an age that thinks highly of frankness and directness. But there are – nevertheless – a few reasons why politeness remains a hugely important quality. Enjoying our Youtube videos? Get full access to all our audio content, videos, and thousands of thought-provoking articles, conversation cards and more with The School of Life Subscription: https://t.ly/Jhcgt Be more mindful, present and inspired. Get the best of The School of Life delivered straight to your inbox: https://t.ly/lzt2A FURTHER READING “For most of human history, the idea of being ‘polite’ has been central to our sense of what is required to count as a good and civilised person. But more recently, politeness has come under suspicion. While we may not outright reject it, it’s not a word we now instinctively reach for when we want to explain why we like or admire someone. ‘Politeness’ can sometimes even carry almost the opposite of its traditional connotations, suggesting an offensive or insolent degree of insincerity and inauthenticity. A ‘polite’ person may come to be judged as a bit of a fake – and in their own way, really rather rude...” You can read more on this and other topics here: https://goo.gl/Qz2hgC MORE SCHOOL OF LIFE Watch more films on RELATIONSHIPS in our playlist: http://bit.ly/TSOLrelationships SOCIAL MEDIA Feel free to follow us at the links below: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theschooloflifelondon/ X: https://twitter.com/TheSchoolOfLife Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theschooloflifelondon/ CREDITS Produced in collaboration with: Steve Whittle/Reflective Films http://www.reflectivefilms.co.uk/ #TheSchoolOfLife ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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## Transcript

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