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Honestly, none of these really bother me. If I like the person and enjoy their company I don't mind talking about their life, and if that includes their kids, their vacations,the game last week, their job, home renovations, so what?
People talk about what's going on in their lives. Guess I am not sure what people should talk about? Just the weather?
You can safely talk about your grandmother's kitchen and what came out of it! (see upthread posts).
I had a good laugh reading through this thread and giving out reps left and right.
I will add: the roads that you took to get to your destination as well as the traffic/tolls. Don't go on and on about all the alternate transportation/roads that you could/would take.
The He said, blah, blah, and then she said, blah, blah type of storytelling drives me crazy more than anything.
A play by play of the current book that you are reading. Then ending the speech with "that's what I've read so far."
Your pets from the past, present, future and all their names.
The same stories over and over again. Events that happened 20 years ago and reciting them endlessly. People who can't remember what they told and to whom. My limit is to hear the same story 3 times. After that, I do not restrain myself from interrupting and finishing the story for the person to make them shut up.
Details about TV shows and movies that I've never seen and have no interest in seeing or will never see because of lack of access. Just recommend what you like. One of my friends is into true crime/murder. She insists in going into every detail of the "case," as if she were Sherlock Holmes. She knows I hate this stuff, but she keeps telling me in detail about books, TV shows, movies that she watches about murders and conspiracy theories.
I can listen to anyone about anything in moderation, but please know your audience/listener. If they don't have a similar experience/frame of reference/background, don't ramble on endlessly. If they have never met the person that you are talking about, keep it short. For some people it seems more important that they get out the words rather than to actually communicate something. Please, summarize and stick to the main points, as if you were taking a test and had to pick the best choice for the main idea of the above paragraph.
Honestly, none of these really bother me. If I like the person and enjoy their company I don't mind talking about their life, and if that includes their kids, their vacations,the game last week, their job, home renovations, so what?
People talk about what's going on in their lives. Guess I am not sure what people should talk about? Just the weather?
I think the objection isn't so much the topics, as the lack of consideration of the audience. I don't mind hearing about my friends' kids. It's natural that they would talk about them. But if they monopolize the conversation with discussion of their kids, or constantly bring them up to the exclusion of any other topics, knowing that I'm not a parent and really have nothing to contribute to a discussion of classroom issues or playground politics, that just tells me that they don't want to talk WITH me, just AT me.
I think my biggest issue is when they ignore not so subtle clues that I'd like to be a participant instead of an audience. Like when I start to say something and they talk right over me. I finally just turned and walked away from one guy who did that a lot. He got the message and doesn't talk over me any more.
So I tried it with a woman who was always going on about her alternative health cures. She followed me around, telling my back all about the time she ate nothing but grapes for four months. Aaaaauuggghhh!
In my day-to-day world, second only to what someone's grandchild is doing, is what someone's PET is doing! I don't give a crap about your dog or cat's antics, so please for the love of God SPARE me! My last boss thought it was incredibly funny to show her poop-filled shoes after her dog had left her a little "present" in them! Really? After the "presents" persisted, I would show that dog the door to the nearest animal pound!
Third would be your reality show or celebrity worship. I don't follow celebrities, they don't care about me, I don't care about them, and here's a wake up call for you - They don't care about YOU either! Get a life!
Whew - I feel better now.
Cruel and stupid, because the cause of that is a lack of training by the owner.
People talking about drinking. How drunk they got, how drunk they will get, and what their favorite bar is. Don't even realize they have a problem. I know this couple, they have a drink with every meal except breakfast. It's totally gross.
People who talk about the divorce they are going through, or about what their "ex" is doing. Equally, talking about what a loser their wife's ex-husband was.
Please name some. I'll list one myself soon. Let's exclude discussions just between members of the immediate family.
I was about to say, There are no boring topics, only boring people.
But this thread has reminded me that I was wrong!
Sports? I love them, fine. But please...I do NOT care about your co-workers and their drama, nor your progeny, people I've never met, shows I don't watch, medical procedures, and diet.
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(see upthread posts).
