How To Be Casual

A casual thing?

By Snarky LisaPublished about 4 hours ago • 3 min read

The art of informality can be quite the tool in everyday life. From lightening the mood to just being simple and easy, casualness as a utility is surprisingly rather useful for various matters in our society in this world.

That being said, informalities must be used carefully if they are to truly succeed at one’s desired purposes and/or goals. Too much relaxation, and one may very well come off as lazy. Too little breeziness, and it isn’t hard for one to give off an unpleasantly bland and dull aura to others.

How does one actually succeed at being casual, then? This article will go over just that!

Please note that I am not a licensed professional. As such, I cannot fully guarantee that anything proposed in this article will work. Nonetheless, I hope you are able to find some use in reading this piece.

With all of the above being said, let’s get into things.

Is It Worth It?

First and foremost, think to yourself: should I be casual in this sort of situation?

Don’t get me wrong, being casual and/or just generally informal can keep things from getting too boring. Not every occasion warrants acting like one is at a solemn ceremony, after all.

Indeed, many parties and raves are much better off being areas of fun and unbridled enjoyment. Asides from the basic principles of not hurting other people or breaking the law, do they really need to be constrained by a lot of rules?

Unfortunately, not every event allows those involved to be casual, though. An office work meeting, for example, often has set requirements and etiquette to ensure that things run smoothly and people take their jobs seriously.

Another type of occasion where casualness could cause more harm than good is a dignified memorial ceremony of any kind. While less stringent ones do exist, the fact of the matter is that most of them do discourage lighthearted behaviour. How else would people be able to process their emotions properly?

Dress And Appearance

One must avoid dressing too fancily if one desires to appear casual.

There are some (hopefully) obvious no gos like, say, dressing up like one is about to attend a traditional Catholic wedding. Likewise, funeral outfits are typically far too drab to wear if one wants to appear informal.

Unless one is in a fundamentalist religion or a traditionally cultured family, most everyday clothes are enough to appear casual. That being said, one does also need to pay attention to one’s appearance as well.

Avoid wearing too much makeup. While there is nothing wrong with makeup on a moral level — and wearing some can even add to one’s informality if placed correctly — putting on too much runs the risk of making one look too polished to be casual. It’s what one wears to appear more stylish, after all, and overdoing that will just make one look overly posh for a casual person.

Speech And Language

Just as outer appearance is important for casualness, so too, is the use of language.

This section is not to disparage any forms of standardized language. That being said, certain forms of it can come off as more formal than others.

Take Early Modern English, for example. This is the kind of English that was used in William Shakespeare’s era — and the pain of many English students, of course. Due to its differences in grammar and vocabulary, it typically feels rather archaic for others to hear someone speak it nowadays.

Also, keep in mind your tone of voice. Being either too loud or too soft, too brash or too quiet; these factors will make you sound less casual and informal. It’s not exactly everyday, mundane conversation to do so.

…

As it turns out, being casual is actually pretty easy.

Any other thoughts on this? Let me know in the comments!