Leaving boring conversations

Lysander

Lysander

Lysander

Capodecina
Soldato
Joined
1 Aug 2005
Posts
20,005
Location
Flatland
How do you do it? You know, there are people you meet sometimes who just go on and on and on about nothing of importance, just relishing in the fact that they're talking. What do you do to get out of it?

Sometimes I just make an excuse and leave or interrupt them, though it's not always that easy. Waiting for a "break" in their dialogue so you can wrap it up often just draws it out even longer. I would be interested to see what other peoples' tactics are.
 
I'm naturally quite agreeable so this is something I've had to (and continue to) actively work on to overcome. It can feel awkward, but if someone isn't picking up on the natural "wow, you're going on a bit" signals, then they're actually the ones that are being rude. In those cases, I try to remember that allowing it to continue is reinforcing the behaviour, and that they're likely experiencing being cut off a lot so they won't feel the awkwardness of it as much as you do. Then, it's as simple as saying "Mate, I'm going to have to cut this short as I really have to go, see ya."
 
“Will you please shut the **** up?!”
“Thank you.”


Always remember your P’s and Q’s, though, otherwise it’s just rude.
 
Made worse when you're on a bus/train.

Luckily those days are over, but there's nothing worse than someone coming and sitting next to you, then after 5 minutes of catching up, you realise you each have nothing in common and it's an awkward silence for the remainder of the trip since you've put your book away/removed headphones and it's awkward putting them back in!
 
I slowly close my eyes and lower my chin to my chest then jerk it back up. It usually only takes the one go at it.

Which reminds me, time to unsubscribe from this thread...
 
Zefan said:
It can feel awkward, but if someone isn't picking up on the natural "wow, you're going on a bit" signals, then they're actually the ones that are being rude. In those cases, I try to remember that allowing it to continue is reinforcing the behaviour, and that they're likely experiencing being cut off a lot so they won't feel the awkwardness of it as much as you do.
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Didn't expect such good advice so early in the thread.
 
I'm probably bored around 80-90% of my waking hours, so I'm pretty good at just zoning out by now.
 
Lysander said:
My ex's mum. She didn't care what she was saying as long as she was the one talking.
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Exactly like my mum. She regularly fills me in on what's happened to the nieces and nephews of people I have never met, and will never meet. Quite often this relates to verbatim accounts of conversations that happened in 1979 or earlier.

I'm pretty sure I am the only one who ever tells her "I'm not interested, please stop"
 
potatolord said:
Quite often this relates to verbatim accounts of conversations that happened in 1979 or earlier.
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No offense to your mum, but I cannot understand how people recount conversations like this. Neither do I understand how people cannot tell when they're being boring. I think it's just about being self-absorbed and insensitive.
 
Lysander said:
My ex's mum. She didn't care what she was saying as long as she was the one talking.

I remember one fun afternoon where she prattled on for 15 minutes about a slice of cheesecake she'd had at a theatre cafe.
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Those people are so annoying, its like they are scared of silence.

If its not a situation where you can say you need to do something and walk off then I just try to change the subject or drag someone else into the conversation :p
 
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