You know, if I had a nickel for every time I told somebody something and then found out they weren’t listening, I would be a rich woman. Like many people, this happens to me a lot, and, although I never say anything, it can get very irritating when people don’t listen. Sometimes I think in my mind, “I always listen to you, why can’t you, just once, listen to me?” But, of course, I would never say that out loud because I’m a good listener, plus the person on the other side might not think it very nice if I said something like that.
Here are some of the situations I, and I’m pretty sure many other people, find themselves in:
1. I start talking in a group of people, commenting about something just said by another person, and when I get in the middle of my comment I realize that nobody is listening, and then I just fade away and stop talking.
2. I’m talking, ranting, or commenting about something while I’m either driving a car or riding in a car, and then I hear a silence after I finish and realize that the other person wasn’t listening to me at all.
3. I walk up to a person while they are on the computer or doing something else, they acknowledge that I’m there, and I start talking or asking questions and after I finish they say, “Oh sorry, what?”
4. I try to tell something to a person who is watching TV, and they don’t respond or even acknowlege I’m there because they are too immersed in the television program.
5. I try to start talking with someone about something, and they immediately interrupt me, saying “Oh! I know what you’re talking about…” and then proceed to talk about themselves, their stories, or their circumstances, and I just let them talk not even getting to say what I wanted to say.
6. Same situation as above, except this time I actually interrupt them and continue on with what I’m saying, but they do the same thing and, in the end, I lose.
I’m sure there are many other situations I find myself in with people not listening, but these are by far the most prevalent. I’ve found that the worst perpetrators of this are family. People just want to talk about themselves, I get it, I really do, because sometimes I just want to talk about myself, but if I don’t have anybody who wants to listen to what I want to say, and only cares about what they want to say,then it’s really hard not to get annoyed. I mean, I’m really not asking for much, if you don’t want to listen then at least nod your head or make throaty noises once in a while! I’m not completely blameless of those scenarios listed up there, but I try my hardest to listen to people and not partake one of those. And I’m writing this post because sometimes, I just get tired when people don’t listen.
The OOC Channel 