The other day found us enjoying a pleasant lunch in a local
restaurant. Two women sat at a nearby table, one of whom was a talker. By that
I mean she never stopped, as if the whole point of lunch was to talk, talk
talk. It was all prattle too - all me, me, me. Nothing interesting, no current
affairs, no unusual experiences, no insights. And she was loud – strewth was
she loud.
She was loud in the way that children are loud because they
have not yet learned to moderate their voices and conduct a
conversation which is rather more than a series of personal announcements.
Yet in my experience a loud voice can be an asset if linked to a
quietly assertive personality but it’s a fine line to tread. I don’t have a
loud voice so I don’t need to tread such a line which perhaps is just as well.
3 comments:
Yes, big voices are sometimes OK, but never if they are coupled with a small mind. Whenever I encounter situations like the one you describe, I have a strong sense of embarrassment. People with no sense of public shame make me uneasy, and it's probably something to do with your point about how children talk; and about how I was corrected as a child.
Empty vessels an' that, Mr H.
I'm sorry your lunch was affected, but enjoyed the write-up in your local rag, about a silly, pampered, shrieking old old biddy having to pull spaghetti from her hair, and empty the tomato sauce from her handbag, while an elegant gentleman and his fragrant wife quietly left the establishement, leaving a big tip, and somehow removing the air from the tyres on the rusty old car parked outside...
Sam - they make me slightly uneasy too. It's ridiculous because it doesn't work like that, but I sometimes wonder if I missed out on the assertiveness game.
Scrobs - I missed that one, but it wasn't us. If only...
Post a Comment