Monday, November 28, 2011

phone phool

Do you ever find yourself sounding like a dithering idiot on the phone?  I'm not an idiot, but man, today i sounded like one on the phone while trying to say "No, you can't come and be a volunteer here because we've got nothing for you to do." in a really nice, thank-you-for calling sort of way.

It's hard to say "No" in a positive way.  I guess i must think that the more words i use to say it, the nicer it will sound, thus the idiotic babbling.

Did you know that there's a support group for families of people who talk too much?  It's called On-and-on Anon.

11 comments:

Dick said...

Good to see a post from you. Some people just don't want to hear "No" whether on the phone or in person and I expect they will try to continue the conversation in the hope that the party they are talking with, who is telling them "No", will change their tune. If the caller is asking about a volunteer opportunity and you want to keep them interested in case something does come up in the future that they might help with, it would be touchy.

heartinsanfrancisco said...

I should probably join that group.

Next time someone volunteers to help you, could you please send them to me? Especially if they do windows.

Taradharma said...

All my family members need that group. Oy.

Bob said...

It is hard to turn away someone who wants to help. No isn't always a negative, though. maybe they found another group who could use their volunteer labor. In that way, your no became their yes and everything balances.

nick said...

It's not too hard to say no to people if you're confident you're making the right decision. I find it's only a problem if I'm not sure of my ground and I think maybe I'm being unfair and unreasonable.

On-and-on Anon is a wonderful idea. But fortunately my family tend to be quiet and reserved rather than chatterboxes.

Mrs. Chili said...

On-and-on Anon.

Bwahahahaha!!

Anonymous said...

You made a funny!

I often sound like a dithering idiot. I'm only articulate in writing:)

fiwa said...

Yes, I've done that. I specifically remember a call about 20 years ago that I did that on - apparently it really bothered me because I can still remember it to this day. Wish I could just reel all that back into my mouth and restart it from scratch. Say it once and hang up. And man, there is something about volunteer situations that seems to bring out the opportunity for "foot in mouth" syndrome. I don't know why that is.

jaded said...

The denotation of "no" is delightfully efficient, however the connotation seems to denote rejection or negativity. I prefer to think of blunt as efficient rather than artless.

De said...

Even when I write down what I want to say, I tend to repeat myself on the phone. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately), with caller ID, there is no more Anon.

Lynnea said...

I have two talk-too-muchers in my family. I find it endearing but sometimes my brain wants to explode.

On the other hand I suffer with several family members who hate talking on the phone so much that they cut conversations short and it can feel awkward. I get fidgety on the phone whenever I have to leave a message on a machine - it's as if when no one is there to say OK I just keep going and going and going