genuinegirly

Yep. It sucks. I typically take it as a sign that they're not interested in what I have to say. If it happens too frequently, I'll usually get frustrated enough to find a new crowd.

Then again, here's something else... there is someone that I spend a lot of time with at work who has told me that she feels I talk over her too much. The fact that I hate dealing with that crap, and realizing that I was doing it to someone else, really hit home. I do my best to hear her out completely and not attempt to interject whatsoever. Sometimes it's difficult because I view her as a close friend, and with my close friends from childhood, we jump in, finish each others sentences, and otherwise try to make audible cues that we are paying attention to what the other is saying. With this one from work, she views these things as distracting interruptions and an attempt to derail the conversations - I don't want that. I've had to figure out how to communicate my interest with enthusiastic nods and other body language - it's difficult to change my habits. I view it as adjusting to a minor cultural difference (southern polite vs. outspoken Californian).

My grandmother was a special woman who could get everyone in a crowded room to stop and listen to every word she had to say. She was a patient woman, one who thought out her words precisely and only spoke with eloquence - and a whisper. It was an incredible process to observe.

__________________
"Sometimes I have to remember that things are brought to me for a reason, either for my own lessons or for the benefit of others." Cynthetiq

"violence is no more or less real than non-violence." roachboy