The Talker

The Talker

On my way back from Las Vegas something happened that I never paid attention to before. I was sitting with my wife waiting for the plane to arrive when a large nice looking man sat next to me. In about a minute he offered me a piece of gum. I declined and thanked him for the offer. I assumed that was the end of our conversation. A minute later he started asking me and my wife questions. His questions were non-threating (just everyday stuff like "first time in Vegas") and we offered answers along with questions of our own.

The plane arrived 15 minutes later and we and he were in interesting conversation.  I really enjoyed talking to this person whom I probably will never see again. 


When we got on to the plane, there were two flight attendances. One was a nice looking silver hair woman and the other was a plain looking man. At the beginning of the flight, during the flight and after the flight was over, the silver hair woman never said a word to the people on the plane. However, the plain looking man was talking to everyone.


He seemed to be having fun in his job and truly enjoyed conversing with all the passengers. He had a dry sense of humor and used it to get a laugh out of most of us. Like the man sitting next to me, this flight attendant was a talker who loved his job and really enjoyed having conversation with people.


At that moment, I realized that there are two kinds of people in this world. Listeners and talkers. The listeners don't start conversations and sometimes hope the talker would not talk to them. The talkers will talk to anyone and really don't care if thay are listening or responding.

I was always a listener until two things happened. One, give me two glasses of scotch and I become a talker. Two, after sixty I lost my inhabitations and found it enjoyable to be a talker.  I like having conversations with people I've never met before. I've learned so much from these conversations. If I stayed being a listener, I would never have met some of my new friends and would never see another's point of view.


I guess I've changed because I'm in a better place, I'm happy, I like myself more, I now believe I'm interesting and others will gain from my feedback and lastly, I don't give a shit if they want to communicate back with me or not. It's their loss. I can now start a conversation, continue a conversation (even if they don't respond) and end a conversation on my terms.


I believe talkers get more out of life. They might be annoying at times, but they're fun to listen to and you can tell they really like people. Some might be insecure and become a talker to deal with their insecurity. Some feel a need to create a conversation because they can't stand the silence. Some use talking to get others to like them. However, a true talker just loves living life and enjoys the people in their life even if they never met them before. I'm the later.


If you're a deep routed listener, you probably hope a talker will never sit next to you. You just want to be left alone in your own thoughts. However, even if you're a dedicated listener, I strongly suggest you try your best to get involved with the talker. After, trying a few times you might just enjoy the conversation. Even better, you might find that talking is fun and informative and once you get out of your shell, you might become a talker.



It's hard to be a talker when you spent your life being a listener. However, I hope you'll try it.

If it’s too scary to become a talker, try being a listener who enjoys the talker’s conversation. You might find yourself throwing out in a few question of your own.

 

Happiness comes when you get the most out of the life that is available to you. Talkers get more happiness out of life than listeners. Sooo, give it a shot. Try being a talker. What the hell do you have to be afraid of? The worst that can happen is you'll get up and walk away from the talker.

Having interesting conversation with people is a plus to happiness. Either start the conversation or at least enjoy the talker's conversation.