We often hear during alliance selection, “Team XXXX would like to graciously invite Team YYYY.” In reply, you’ll usually here, “Team YYYY graciously accepts.”
The people involved in this dialogue are both using the word “graciously” in allusion to Gracious Professionalism™. But are they using the word as they intend it to be received?
Gracious means to be kind or nice, in Great Britain, they sometimes call the queen, “Her gracious majesty.” It also has a connotation of being worthy of thanks. A person from Britain might want to thank the queen for having such a great country.
But what does this mean for alliance selection?
Team XXXX is saying to Team YYYY that they are doing something really nice by picking Team YYYY.
Likewise, when Team YYYY accepts, they’re saying that by accepting the offer of Team XXXX, they’re doing Team XXXX a favor.
Here’s a script that makes neither Team XXXX nor Team YYYY sound like like they’re using the word ‘gracious’ wrong:
“Team XXXX would like to invite Team YYYY”
“Team YYYY humbly accepts”
Note:
If, for whatever reason, your team wants to decline an alliance, this is what you would say:
“Team YYYY respectfully declines”