Today during a phone chat with a close friend I had to chuckle because while she was relating a recent experience she suddenly said “Blah blah blah”. She had caught herself rambling and decided to stop it. This entertained me immensely. Later during the conversation I asked her something along the lines of “If you cut out the crap, then what?”. We both liked this one. Are you guilty Dear Reader, of wasting your own time on details? I will admit, I have killed a bit of time on nonsense myself…
I like hamburgers, especially the homemade kind. Every once in a while when I bite into a meat patty, my teeth chomp down on bone or a tiny ball of chewy fat. This bone and grizzle filler detracts from the enjoyment of the hamburger eating experience. If I think about it too much, I start to wonder what else might be in there that I wouldn’t like to swallow. I will tell you here and now, I always finish the hamburger, despite a slight feeling of disappointment from the unsavoury filler. A little distraction won’t keep me from staying with the eating plan. Now you may be wondering, what is she going on about? Here is my driving point. When in conversation, there is a talker and a listener. The listener really wants to get to the meat of the matter, hear what is going on with the talker. The talker has the floor and can say whatever they like. Now lets keep in mind that the listener has a vested interest. They want to be available to the talker, be there for them, hear them out. The talker has a responsibility to make it worth the listeners while Dear Reader! If while listening, a person nods off or starts wondering what they might have for lunch, chances are good that there is a whole lot of filler coming from the talker. This may seem like a lopsided situation, where the talker is at fault and to blame for putting the listener to sleep but alas, it takes two to communicate well. The listener is just as responsible for how much filler is permitted and they simply must speak up. The distraction of filler can detract from the experience of truly sharing and connecting on a meaty level. While you might stay in the conversation, the opportunity of a satisfied feeling may be lost for both parties. What do you say, filler or no filler? Small talk is cheap, nasty and hard to digest. Lets all get to the good stuff faster, shall we?
