Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Pet Peeve #1 – The Stop and Chat


First and foremost I would like to make it clear that I have no problem with a stop and chat with my friends. However, if we are not that close and I don’t really know you, we met once while we were out – you are on, “Hey!” and keep walking status. Unless we have been properly introduced and had a conversation a stop and chat is not on the cards. For a stop and chat I need some background information to keep the conversation rolling.

Stop and chats can be awkward and horrible. Awkward pauses will be the death of me. When I try to walk by someone and give them a polite hello, the awkwardness begins when they want to keep a conversation going by yelling after me. And if I don’t stop I’m the asshole? We have to stop and chat now like there’s all this information that needs to be shared.

The artificial small talk in the stop and chat is inexcusable. If you are going to stop me I need a good reason, give me something substantial. Mondays. Mondays I might stop and chat with you. There might be some news from the weekend, some gossip, maybe a funny story. I need to be enticed by the conversation in a stop and chat; otherwise I may never stop again. The little chit-chat, I don’t like it, I like to have real conversations with people.

I have a terrible habit. It almost welcomes the stop and chat. When people say, “Hey!” when we are passing, I much too often respond with “Hey! How are ya?” What do I expect from this? They can either; be rude and ignore my question and we can go our separate ways, or they can stop me and tell me how they are and immediately we are engaged in a stop and chat flooded with the futile exchange of the smallest of talk. Evidently I need a new go-to response to “Hey!” Who would’ve thunk it?

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