"Not listening anymore... But you're still talking!!!"

woman with covered ears - woman refusing to listen anymore
Philippines
August 29, 2009 6:35am CST
It's a little difficult to maintain a face that still looks interested when the truth is, you really want the person to simply keep their mouth shut. What will you do if you find yourself in this kind of situation? You want to do something else but whoever is talking to you, fail to notice that your interest is waning. Big signs: 1. You have already stopped looking at that person 2. You refuse to laugh at the jokes that person keeps on telling 3. You keep on saying, "Uh, what did you say? Sorry.. my mind wandered off!"4. You lost count the times you said, "Uh-huh"5. You keep looking at your watch I know someone who does this. And sometimes, it can be quite exhausting. Either you offend them(even if you try to be careful with your words) or you just go and tell it straight, "Sorry, no more time to listen." Whenever I talk to anyone, I make eye contact. The moment I see that their eyes start to wander off, I stop talking that instant.
5 responses
@Theresaaiza (10487)
• Australia
30 Aug 09
HI, this is very helpful. Sometimes, I too don't know when to stop yapping. But now I can just look at their eyes or watch out for those signs and that's just zip the mouth in an instant! I wish there were strategies though to make someone stop yapping too coz i know a few people who are far worse than I am.
1 person likes this
• Philippines
31 Aug 09
I can think of one!A very big masking tape!
• Philippines
31 Aug 09
Sometimes, I find myself in the same situation, too. But I am the one who's talking. But the difference is, because I am fully aware if the person I'm talking to is starting to lose interest in what I was saying, I tend to talk a little faster. That way, I have said whatever I wanted to say but I hope my words were clear.
@Theresaaiza (10487)
• Australia
1 Sep 09
LOL at masking tape, but a needle and thread would have been more appealing!:-D
1 person likes this
@Lakota12 (42600)
• United States
29 Aug 09
Oh yes I know the feeling and my mind does wonder off and When I have time to cut in I tell them I have work to do. and then go do it
1 person likes this
@Lakota12 (42600)
• United States
29 Aug 09
Sould have known ya wasnt hearing a word she said. I would have lol.
1 person likes this
• Philippines
29 Aug 09
Last night, I just let my cousin talk. She simply went on with what she was telling me even if my eyes were already glued to what I was doing at the computer.
• Philippines
29 Aug 09
I guess she did in the end. Because all of a sudden, she just stopped talking and went to sleep.
@roniroxas (10559)
• Philippines
30 Aug 09
that hard to still talk though you feel that nobody is listening. i am a singer and we keep on talking on stage even we know that nobody caresand sometimes stillsings even we think everybody is busy with their own chit chats and business. but when it comes to talking with a person face to face, i tend to stop when i think that person does not follow. if i am not interested with the topic a person is telling me i simply say i dont care. well that goes for really close friends of mine, if they are not people i know i just excuse myself to the bathroom or to get something.
1 person likes this
• Philippines
31 Aug 09
Hi roni.. I understand when it comes to the demands of the job. You still need to do what you have to do, even if you feel as if you're wasting your time. My husband and I occassionaly go to bars with stand-up comedians and bands. There were times that the comedian fail to get the 100% attention that they seek. But still, they go on with the show.
@williamjisir (22819)
• China
29 Aug 09
Hello jcj. It is often the case that we could encounter when we don't feel interested in what is being talked about by the other. Well, my eighty-three-year-old father likes to talk to us children with always the same things he loves to talk about. Once he speaks to us, we know what he is going to say, but I still listen to him somewhat carefully because I know that my father needs to have someone else to talk besides my mother. So I just listen or keep saying, "I know about it, or I see" and so on. I do not want to make my father unhappy that I listen to him carefully. Sometimes I mention him that he has told me about it. It is interesting of my father. lol
1 person likes this
• Philippines
29 Aug 09
That's very sweet of you, William My father does the same thing. He's very fond of telling stories that we have heard of countless times. I guess, both of them (my father and yours) just like to keep the memories alive. And they do it by reliving the events all over again through their stories.
• China
30 Aug 09
Yeah, that is true indeed.
1 person likes this
@x_Jo_x (1040)
29 Aug 09
haha this happens to me! Sometimes i ask my mum a simple question and then i end up sitting there for about 30 mins listening to her talking about something that i really dont care about. I always try to pay attention, i'll admit - sometimes my mind does wonder. What i usually try to do is make comments every now and again to what she is saying. Listen and ask a question about it. That way she will know im paying attention and it will look like i am interested!
1 person likes this
• Philippines
29 Aug 09
I did, what you did, last night. My cousin kept on with her stories about her professor. What he said, this and that. Actually, I was busy Mylotting. But then, she started talking. At first, I still kept eye contact with her. Then, after 5 minutes, she still wasn't finished with her story. So, I broke eye contact then continued with my Mylotting and occassionaly gave her a glance. After more than 10 minutes, she still wasn't finished. At that point, I even had to remind myself to say something. Because she was staring at me, waiting!