How is it that people who talk way, way, WAY too much - and are older than the age of 12 - don't realize it?
Hasn't anyone told them before?
I had to (politely) interrupt a volunteer at work today who was telling me (as she usually does) an exorbitantly long story that was totally unrelated to work.
She promptly had a meltdown and cried and said I was being mean.
I took her aside and then she apologized and said she was just anxious about a medical procedure she was having tomorrow.
Then, when I left for lunch, she proceeded to retell the entire story to another volunteer.
What am I missing?
25 comments:
WHAT'S WORSE THAN PEOPLE TALKING INCESSANTLY IS PEOPLE TALKING LOUDLY.
...see what I did there?
great blog! +followed
I think it's great that when you said she was over-sharing, she told you she was anxious about a medical procedure. I bet you can't wait for the story that will come after a trip to the hospital...
The victim spirit...I recognize it well, and have NO PATIENCE for it!
What am I missing?
You are missing the fact that some people just can't be taught. They have not only a major failure to communicate, but a major malady called "yapper-itis".
Yapper-itis is the inability of those God has prechosen not to procreate to actually give a damn about anyone but their mealy-mouthed little selfs because they're too busy inhaling all those yummy and nutrious fruit flies while flapping their lips.
This long winded insult has been brought you be your three favorite letters of the alphabet.
And darling (to quote Fernando), you know what they are.
Don't you?
PLAS: Yep ;)
TOG: Thanks!
KD: Oh fuck. I didn't think about that.
I: Ni yo, chica ;)
G: Hahahahaha!
Add bad breath to the mix and it really gets ugly!
Pair that with the inability to read social/non-verbal cues for turn-taking and you can get trapped in a never-ending monologue... It's funny only when comedians do it.
My 16 year old has a boyfriend and sometimes I have to give him a lift in the car with my daughter and he never shuts up! I put the radio on louder and louder and he still doesn't get the message!
I hope she ditches him soon!
Probably a symptom of some deeper issues like all excessive behaviours. I'm guessing loneliness? Like excessive eating, it's hard to stop but they do need to be told again and again and again.
P: Ooooh, that would be worse.
S: I have lived it!
Joey: Oh, ugh, seriously! I should do that w/the radio at work.
LG: I thought so at first, but I think she is physically incapable of shutting up sometimes.
I once worked with a lady like that. The only problem was that she held an executive job so no one could (or had the balls) tell her to shut up. She would seriously waste your time...and then wonder why she was always having to bring work home with her...hmmmm...
She is probably starved for someone to talk to and uses the volunteer location to talk. Or maybe she just likes the sound of her own voice - either way it's kind of annoying when that happens. :)
My sister(-in-law) can be very long-winded. When I asked her how she met my brother, it literally took an hour and a half to get to how they met.
After she was finished hearing the story I told her "Next time somebody asks how you met my brother, just say 'Through mutual friends.'"
I have a neighbor who does this. He's highly intelligent, but so intensely focused on minute details of topics that may not even interest anyone to begin with, that he doesn't notice everyone's eyes glazing over and people slowly, one by one, walking away with the lamest of excuses, until one poor sucker is left standing there wimpering as he bombards them with trivia going back hundreds of year and all relating to that same original topic that he has been beating to death for what seems like an hour straight. He's a nice guy, but he seems totally unaware that he does this. And when he's drunk, oh Lord, run for it.
I hate that too, especially when I was working. The worst was trying to find just ONE pause so you could excuse yourself. I had a few long winded coworkers who would take 5-10 minutes just to reach a single pause. You can't excuse yourself by interrupting--that's rude! But if you excuse yourself during a quick pause, all is well... right?
I know I talk too much. Yet, it is still one of my biggest pet peeves.
Marnie: Ugh. That must have sucked!
L: Probably both :)
WIGSF: Good God! Good advice.
EF: Oh man, that would be even worse!
ABFTS: It should be OK to interrupt. Some people just walk away from this person.
L: I'm sure you pale in comparison to this person. I'm surprised she doesn't have spit foaming down her lips because she never pauses.
“What am I missing?”
Sounds like you are missing the retelling of the story…..
You have to love manipulative colleagues who use tears as a weapon.
A few years back I had a girl who worked for me doing loads of dull admin jobs –
One Christmas she was upset because she had a lot of urgent work to finish and was missing out on a Christmas party, which she had been invited to by another department.
I and a friend offered to help her so that she could get the work done and not miss too much…
Within a minute she had vanished
I tracked her down to the party and dragged her sorry arse backup stairs to finish her work
The tears and wailing were unbelievable especially when we left her to get on with it on her own….
BL: Ugh! Lovely.
Ah, if only that was the only social grace people lacked...'
yes, people generally have no clue. And sadly, there is a direct proportion between boringness of story and length...the more intriguing a story is, the shorter it is. The more mind-killingly dull...the longer.
Darth: Good point!
Oh my...bless you for not losing it entirely!
Cxx
I have a friend like that..She recites everything she has done since I saw her last..There are times I have told her to take a breath..I also have a friend who had stroke affecting her short term memory..and she knows she is repetitive, she will say "If I told you this let me know" I usually don't, she has an excuse.
I'll have to try S T F U sometime on first friend :0
The 'Long Story' of course!
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