...I find that the people who end up doing most of the talking are the ones who simply talk over (or shout down) everyone else. I'm not naturally gregarious, so I have to fight my tendency to let others do all the talking in a conversation.
But I've observed that, even when I try to interject a point of view...even if I've already started talking...there'll always be someone who will talk over me (and everyone else). They'll just jump in, regardless of who's already talking or what they're saying, and they'll keep on talking, regardless of how their interruption affects the rest of the folks in the conversation.
For a long time, I just figured that I was boring or, at least, that the other person must've been much more interesting. But now, I think it's just that the people who are seen as being good conversationalists are often simply oblivious to what's going on around them.
I don't do very well in crowds. They've always made me a bit edgy and, as I've gotten older, the problem has gotten worse. I don't think that it's so much an agorophobia thing...I don't fear being in crowds. I have season tickets to our local pro football team (Go CHIEFS!!) and I never have problems sitting in the stands with 80,000 of my closest friends.
I think the problem is moving through crowds. It's too chaotic and for me, people are too oblivious about what's going on around them and they don't realize the affect they're having on the people around them. Drives me crazy. |
