Do you know anyone you find hard to talk to?  Sometimes, I wonder if anyone realizes how they converse with others. It’s interesting to observe and think about.

How often do you talk to someone who really doesn’t seem to be listening?  I find this is becoming so common among people that it almost makes one not want to talk to the overall majority.

Let’s face it: there are only a select few who we like to be around and talk to, and that’s simply because we listen, they listen, we care, they care, and the conversation goes back and forth with meaningful and caring direction.

I talk to people sometimes and every comment goes back to them somehow. Or, they want you to explain your every move.  Or, they fixate on one thing you said and that’s all they want to talk about.  Their main goal is to turn the conversation back to themselves. 

Like I said, it makes us not want to even start a conversation.

Do you know anyone who never talks about themselves? These type of people make you feel a little guilty, because they rarely talk about themselves.  Indeed, you often have to pull it out of those types of people. I like to be around people like that, probably because we all like to talk about ourselves and we all like it when people take an interest in us.

I also find it interesting to either talk to or observe a conversation between someone who knows a lot about something and someone who knows little to nothing about a subject.

Sometimes, the know-nothing will argue or push his point across, even without knowing a thing. It’s often maddening to the other person; but if you are an observer, it can be highly entertaining. There’s nothing funnier than watching a know-it-all trying to out talk the expert.

I also have watched people completely shut down when they don’t know anything about a subject.  Some people will just stop talking, or say the old “not to change the subject…”

I wonder where that phrase came from.  It’s certainly not a phrase that promotes good manners.

Let’s face it: it’s often stinkin’ hard to focus on other people. When it is, we find ourselves in meaningless conversations. I often catch myself going on and on, trying to be the center of attention, and I turn a little red and am ashamed when it occurs to me.

My wife has called it to my attention before, and after I get over the ticked off feelings and the red face, I’m thankful she shut me down. I’ll be the first to tell you I’m not above making a conversational faux pas from time to time. 

In fact, I probably do it more often than most.