I have a confession – I have a very low tolerance for talkers.
It’ not that I’m anti social, I value and enjoy a good conversation. What drives me crazy are people who talk incessantly –who talk over you –who talk while other people are talking - who don’t listen, as they’re too busy trying to figure out what to talk about next – who talk during movies - who produce an endless stream of mind numbing chatter.
Talkers fall into two camps.
The first group consists of people you know and love. Family and friends. With this group it’s all about management. This is where call display becomes your best friend.
The second group is made up of people you don’t know, and can’t escape from. The dental hygienist who talks about cross border shopping – the masseuse who talks about his recent and messy break-up – the person sitting in seat 14a, who is able to talk non-stop from Vancouver to London without taking a breath. Yada yada yada. They really exhaust me.
When confronted by a ‘Chatty Kathy”, my son Tyler cuts to the chase. He immediately explains that he doesn’t want to be rude and just wants to “veg”. Another good friend has a more passive aggressive approach. She thinks the solution is to carry an offensive book with you, and when confronted by a talker, just pull it out and start reading. She swears it’s guaranteed to shut anyone up.
I’m never sure what to do, and always worry about hurting other peoples feelings.
It’ not that I’m anti social, I value and enjoy a good conversation. What drives me crazy are people who talk incessantly –who talk over you –who talk while other people are talking - who don’t listen, as they’re too busy trying to figure out what to talk about next – who talk during movies - who produce an endless stream of mind numbing chatter.
Talkers fall into two camps.
The first group consists of people you know and love. Family and friends. With this group it’s all about management. This is where call display becomes your best friend.
The second group is made up of people you don’t know, and can’t escape from. The dental hygienist who talks about cross border shopping – the masseuse who talks about his recent and messy break-up – the person sitting in seat 14a, who is able to talk non-stop from Vancouver to London without taking a breath. Yada yada yada. They really exhaust me.
When confronted by a ‘Chatty Kathy”, my son Tyler cuts to the chase. He immediately explains that he doesn’t want to be rude and just wants to “veg”. Another good friend has a more passive aggressive approach. She thinks the solution is to carry an offensive book with you, and when confronted by a talker, just pull it out and start reading. She swears it’s guaranteed to shut anyone up.
I’m never sure what to do, and always worry about hurting other peoples feelings.
2 comments:
I sorry Mika....no speaka Engleesh.
Hey, girl, don't ruin it for the rest of us... I love talkers. (and I know that I fall into your Family and Friends category, sorry about that.) Talking to total strangers is how I met the Kurds in Turkey, the peasants in Cambodia and the two old gems in Vietnam!
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