Social scientists have revealed that 80% of all conversational interruptions are not due to some elaborate power-play, but are caused by the speaker being mind-numbingly tedious. Repetition, lack of coherent sentence structure and halitosis are listed as the main reasons that people interrupt; although the top one remains, an irrational fear that the conversation will never end.
In one particular case-study, friends of Morwenna Rowling (36), attested to stopping her from talking no less than 40 times a minute – often using imaginary appointments, fictious childcare or actual wildfires as an excuse to leave. The only other person to have recorded more interruptions is Emily Maitlis, every time she talks to a Labour MP.
Explained one scientist: ‘Rather than end up in a Kafkaesque chat, concerning your health and the state of the weather, why not freshen up your repartee with a joke or have an actual point to the conversation? Too often people forget that an inner monologue should be inner for a reason. If you like white noise that much, write a blog or listen to Piers Morgan.’
A confused Morwenna said: ‘I thought people were ignoring me because of a pervasive patriarchal culture of misogynistic hegemony, maintained by a rigid class structure of institutional prejudice and hierarchical bigotry. But it turns out, I’m a bit of a bore.’
If you enjoyed this archive item, why not buy thousands of archive stories found in our eBooks, paperbacks and hardbacks?
 |  |  |