What’s That Smell?

A beautiful aroma?

by Brian Radcliffe

Suitable for Whole School (Sec)

Aims

To encourage students to consider the impression of themselves they project to others.

Preparation and materials

• You will need the PowerPoint slides accompanying this assembly (What’s That Smell?) and the means to display them.

Assembly

1. Show Slide 1.
   I wonder what type of deodorant we prefer.
   Most of us want to smell good and know about the necessary action to take to help this to happen.
2. Show Slide 2.
   When Jude Law was asked to play the role of King Henry 8th in the film Firebrand he took his responsibility seriously. In the film Henry is an older man, in his final marriage, to Catherine Parr. He was troubled by his legs which were bloated and riddled with ulcers and infection. It was said that you could smell Henry coming from three rooms away. The smell from his legs was not good!
3. Jude wanted to give an authentic performance. He wanted the other actors and actresses to react to him in the way that Henry’s court acted towards him. He knew a perfumier who could create the most amazing, the most attractive scents imaginable. Instead, he asked them to concoct the most unpleasant perfume imaginable. The result was a perfume that smelled strongly of blood and pus and sweat and poo! It worked. The performances from the others were amazing. They were almost sick in his presence!
4. Show Slide 3.
   There’s a passage in one of the letters of Saint Paul to his friends in the city of Corinth where he describes Christian believers as being like a sweet-smelling incense, or perfume, spreading to those around them.
   Here Paul isn’t speaking about an actual physical smell. He is speaking about the way our lives and actions, impact people.

Time for reflection

I wonder what impact we have on the lives of those around us.

What is the perfume we project around ourselves?
When people meet us do they get a sense of optimism, welcome, possibilities, enjoyment and pleasure?
What is it like to be in our company?

Some people have a way of helping us to feel good about ourselves and about life.
Unfortunately, other people have the opposite effect! We might get a sense of pessimism, rejection, defeat or discouragement from being in their presence.

Our impact on the lives of others is often bigger than we realise.

We have just one opportunity to make a good first impression. But the continued impression we make day after day matters.

Let’s think honestly about the following questions:

Are people helped when they meet us?
Do they feel encouraged?
Do people feel love and accepted?

Show Slide 4.
In the past Jude Law had fronted well known perfume adverts for Dior. Quite a contrast from his role as King Henry. In the same way we can make decisions about how we respond to others – what kind of ‘Aroma’ we give out to those around us.

Let’s pause to think about how we treat others and how our actions and the way we respond can make a difference in the lives of other people.

Allow time for reflection.