My barometer that measures how many words is too much is sharper when I am listening to somebody than when I am the one speaking. If I'm listening to someone who has talked for too long, my fingers start reaching for something to do, my breath goes deeper, and sometimes I even hold my breath. Fairly consistently, my body naturally tells me when someone has had too much to say.
But when talking, well, that's another story. I get in the groove of what I'm sharing and quickly shift from focusing on the listener to instead focusing on me, especially on what comes next to mind. If I have already shared a new perspective or concept, I must add the details that adequately support it, and of course after that, I would offer stories that bring it to life.
All to the complete delight of my audience. Or so I think. Only too late do I notice someone has started making a distracting noise (coughed, slid a chair, interrupted or begun playing with their phone). Yet, at this point I am annoyed at their interruption, not seeing their obvious desire to move on.
Certainly their barometer has reacted much too quickly! How intolerant. How insensitive. Don't they get it?
Obviously, in these cases, I have had too much to say. And with that, I will conclude this post.
