We all have that one friend who loves to sing all the time, hell, sometimes you may join her in a verse or two. You know her singing is fine when you two are together, but the problem is she loves to sing in front of other people too. So should you politely tell her she can’t sing?
When you tell your friend that she can’t sing, get straight to the point, being gracious and tip-toeing around the subject will give her mixed signals, and she will think that you are joking. There is no easy way to do this.
7 Things to do when your friend can’t sing
Before telling your friend that she can’t sing, why not try doing some of these?
Record her singing and make her listen to it
If you are worried about coming off too harsh then tell your friend that she has a great voice then have her listen to it. This way she can hear how awful she sounds and you won’t come off as being insensitive.
Tell her to get singing lessons
If singing is a passion and not something that she does when the two of you are together then tell her to take singing lessons. If she is really serious about it, instead of letting your friend go to auditions and have her laughed at, put the idea of singing lessons in her head. This is great because not only will she improve her singing but you will come off as the greatest friend ever.
Pull funny faces
Hey, actions speak louder than words, or in this case, “ expressions” speak louder than words. When she starts singing start making funny faces, but don’t be dramatic. Try slightly rolling your eyes, looking sideways, or raising your eyebrows. If she asks you what the problem is, you can say “ oh it’s nothing, I am fine”. If she was observing your facial expressions when she was singing, she will hopefully get the hint.
Interrupt her singing with a random conversation
When she starts singing you can quickly come up with something to talk about, a topic that will need her to respond to, and hopefully, you will then come up with something else to talk about to keep the conversation going before she starts singing again. This strategy will not work all the time and eventually, you will become suspicious, and use it as a backup.
Ask someone else to tell her she can’t sing
If you are too scared of your friend’s reaction then think about asking a mutual friend. I cant bet you that everyone around her knows that she can’t sing, so we can safely say that you are not the only one thinking “my friend can’t sing”. If one of you in the friendship circle is brave or just as annoyed as you are then they should tell her she needs to tone it down a little
Sign her up to sing at karaoke night or at a party
Lots of cities have open mic nights, not just for poetry but for singing, google an open singing night in your area or a karaoke bar and drag your friend with you. This way she will see other people’s reactions other than yours, if you tell her she can’t sing depending on the type of person she is she might think you are jealous. On the other hand, if other people hear her sing, they won’t be as pleasant, maybe she needs to hear it from someone who is not emotionally attached to her.
Just be honest and tell her
If you love your friend and you care about her feelings you must tell her, especially if she is unaware that she can’t sing. If you go out and she starts singing people will laugh behind her back and this will affect her self-esteem. Tell her, you don’t have to be overly apologetic, be direct, it will help if you have a recording of her singing.
Make her see you are telling her to be aware that she does not have a singing voice and most importantly if she likes to seriously sing in front of people, they laugh behind her back. If she continues, then you can relax knowing that you played your part.
If you want to politely tell your friend, try saying some of these phrases, you must type the word LOL after writing these, just to make the mood a little light. The point is not to make your friend feel ashamed, you just need to get your point across.
Should you tell someone they can’t sing?
Yes, if your friend keeps singing in front of people and you find that people are laughing, it can become embarrassing for them, then you should tell them. However, if your friend keeps the singing between the two of you, there is no harm in letting them sing and have fun.
Sarcastic ways to tell someone they can’t sing
- It’s a good thing that we are friends because we both can’t sing.
- Ladies and gentlemen….give a round of applause for the greatest friend but a terrible singer.
- Your voice is good for singing in church because you don’t have to sound good…lol.
- Annnnnnddddd… here we have a beautiful soul who needs to stop singing.
- Did you wake up and swallow a frog? ….hahahah just kidding.
- Girl, your singing will give us both nightmares…….
- Who told you that you can sing?
- At least we can use your voice to scare away a burglar, right?
In conclusion
Just rip the bandaid and inform her she can’t sing, remind her that you two have a blast when you sing together, if she is hurt, then it would be the perfect time to tell her to get singing lessons if singing is what she wants to pursue, good luck.