Posted by noa on April 17, 2004, at 8:50:20
In reply to Small Talk, posted by Stryker88 on April 15, 2004, at 5:52:26
Yes, I get what you are saying.
Hey, you could try things like wearing earphones as though you are listening to music, or wearing a cell phone headset and looking like you are on the phone, maybe even holding the phone out so it is obvious.
Or, bring a newspaper, or just a section of the newspaper, with you and then when you get to that area where you feel likely to see this person, pull out the paper and pretend to be looking for something in it by holding it up and looking at one page, then turning the page, etc. until you pass the person. This way, it is likely to be covering your face, rather than folded efficiently the way it might be if you are reading a particular article.
For sitting situations, always have reading material handy and look engrossed if you need to avoid a talky stranger sitting next to you. For even more intense reading effect, photocopy an article--any article, as long as it's long enough to last the entire time you'll be stuck there next to a talky stranger--and bring a highlighter with you and go through and highlight words here and there throughout the article. You don't even have to read anything really! Just look like you are intently studying something. Even better if it's in a foreign language with a different alphabet! That way you also can fall back on pretending not to speak English if a really insistent talker happens to be the person next to you. Then you can just say, "I sorry" (accompanied by a plausible fake accent of indistinct origin, of course) and point to the article and shrug your shoulders to let the person know you really have to get back to work.
I'm sure some of the many witty babblers have lots of great ideas for evasion tactics!
:~)
poster:noa
thread:336541
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20040414/msgs/337118.html