# How talkative are you away from your keyboard? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 10, 2004, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-talkative-are-you-away-from-your-keyboard/228505 "2004-02-10T20:09:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2004, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-talkative-are-you-away-from-your-keyboard/228505/1 "2004-02-10T20:09:36Z")
I am considered by most to be quite a talkative person. People tell me all the time I am easy to talk to. Essentially, I get paid to talk as well. Granted people are paying to hear what I have to say only in the most indirect way…They pay to go to the school I teach at. But outside work I can talk to anyone. And I do, I like talking. I also enjoy having a good sense of humor - tho it has got me in trouble on more than one occasion - I still hold onto the funny things in life, to remind me not to get too serious, and to remember to make life fun and worth living… So, how talkative are you outside work and school? Can you talk to anyone? Do you have a good sense of humor in your opinion? ---
**Author:** ![Sgt.Pepper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Sgt.Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sgt.Pepper)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2004, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-talkative-are-you-away-from-your-keyboard/228505/2 "2004-02-10T20:45:43Z")
That’s an interesting question. For some reason I assumed most people who socialize on the internet would be introverted, and that’s why they socialize on the 'net. I myself don’t talk much away from the compluter. I’ll talk with my close friends and family, but generally I won’t talk much with casual acquaintances. I’ll exchange a few pleasentries, but nothing too meaningful. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2004, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-talkative-are-you-away-from-your-keyboard/228505/3 "2004-02-10T21:03:54Z")
It does seem slightly paradoxical, but I am talking all day long, and I simply get used to human contact…Like right now I’m in the Library doing some online research and posting to you folks. I’m sitting at a large table maybe 20 feet long. Mostly being left alone but I’m talking and writing at the same time… I have always enjoyed good conversations… ---
**Author:** ![7\_up\_yours](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/7/919ad9/32.png) [@7\_up\_yours](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/7_up_yours)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2004, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-talkative-are-you-away-from-your-keyboard/228505/4 "2004-02-10T23:26:08Z")
I’ll talk my head off to my friends, but to people I don’t know, I’m usually pretty quiet. ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2004, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-talkative-are-you-away-from-your-keyboard/228505/5 "2004-02-10T23:50:00Z")
If I ride on an elevator with someone, there’s a 50/50 chance I’m going to have sort of conversation with them. Strangers strike up conversations with me, as well. ---
**Author:** ![yBeayf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e274bd/32.png) [@yBeayf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yBeayf)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2004, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-talkative-are-you-away-from-your-keyboard/228505/6 "2004-02-10T23:59:29Z")
Unless I am very comfortable with whomever I’m talking with, I am virtually mute. This is true online as well, but to a lesser extent. When I’m in public, my m.o. is to walk quickly, look down, and utterly ignore everyone around me. ---
**Author:** ![raz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@raz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raz)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-talkative-are-you-away-from-your-keyboard/228505/7 "2004-02-11T00:02:49Z")
I’m a big talker. I’ll talk to anyone, friends and strangers alike. I can be quite chatty at times. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-talkative-are-you-away-from-your-keyboard/228505/8 "2004-02-11T00:51:09Z")
I’m quite chatty among friends and acquaintances. With strangers, it varies - if I’m in the mood, I’ll make a generic comment. Otherwise, I close within myself. I enjoy conversation and joking. I don’t like heavy discussions or celeb gossip. Sometimes I’ll natter on, and sometimes I’ll just listen. So, to answer your question, it depends. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![sleeping](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/839c29/32.png) [@sleeping](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleeping)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-talkative-are-you-away-from-your-keyboard/228505/9 "2004-02-11T00:52:50Z")
> [@Phlosphr](#): > > So, how talkative are you outside work and school? Not very much if it’s someone I don’t know very well. > [@](#): > > Can you talk to anyone? Certainly not anyone. My conversations with strangers are brief and never personal. > [@](#): > > Do you have a good sense of humor in your opinion? I think I do. As for everyone else, some people get it, others don’t. ---
**Author:** ![wei](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90ced4/32.png) [@wei](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wei)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-talkative-are-you-away-from-your-keyboard/228505/10 "2004-02-11T01:25:50Z")
Most of the people I talk to online are my close friends in real life, and I do talk sufficiently around them in person. But outside of that, I don’t enjoy talking to strangers or anyone I’m not very close with. ---
**Author:** ![Jayn\_Newell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-talkative-are-you-away-from-your-keyboard/228505/11 "2004-02-11T01:41:55Z")
> [@Phlosphr](#): > > So, how talkative are you outside work and school? Can you talk to anyone? Do you have a good sense of humor in your opinion? Well, I live at school, so I don’t really talk much outside of it, since i"m rarely away at all. In all seriousness, though, I have a hard time starting any sort of conversation with someone I dont’ know very well. Once you get past the beginning, though, no matter who it’s with, I can talk for ages (darn acadian blood, I can honestly blame it on my mother!) The hard part is then shutting up. I would say I have a good, though twisted, sense of humor. ---
**Author:** ![Jervoise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jervoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jervoise)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-talkative-are-you-away-from-your-keyboard/228505/12 "2004-02-11T02:59:05Z")
> [@Ringo](#): > > If I ride on an elevator with someone, there’s a 50/50 chance I’m going to have sort of conversation with them. Strangers strike up conversations with me, as well. Ditto. I like chatting away, and I’m a magnet for talkative strangers, it seems. I like meeting people, so I’m rather chatty in person. I don’t have trouble feeling comfortable or having extended conversations with with strangers. I’m fairly funny in person–mainly self-deprecation–which goes a long way to breaking the ice. The only time I don’t want to talk is when I’m tired. I can’t _stand_ talking to people on my evening commute home–I just want to keep to myself. ---
**Author:** ![Sinshine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Sinshine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sinshine)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-talkative-are-you-away-from-your-keyboard/228505/13 "2004-02-11T03:28:17Z")
I have been shifting lately from talking a whole bundle, to waiting until I actually have something worth saying before I speak up. Partially, this is due to my job answering phones and inane questions at work. Partially, because I am single and quite possibly losing patience with stupid people. > [@Phlosphr](#): > > So, how talkative are you outside work and school? There’s nobody to talk to but the cat, in my home. When out with friends, it depends on which friends and what we are doing. With my family, I tend to revert to my childhood persona of “Chatterer the Red Squirrel” (Note my dad’s wry sense of humour at work here.) > [@](#): > > Can you talk to anyone? Once upon a time, yes. Anyone, from anywhere. Nowadays, not so much. If a guy is especially attractive, I turn into a stuttering idiot. Beyond that, I just don’t have so much to say. > [@](#): > > Do you have a good sense of humor in your opinion? _I_ like my sense of humour. However, I tend to be the only one who gets it, which is indicative of my not being so funny as I once thought. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-talkative-are-you-away-from-your-keyboard/228505/14 "2004-02-11T04:41:33Z")
I have social anxiety, so naturally I don’t talk much to strangers or to anybody while in a large group. When I’m alone with someone I feel comfortable with I make up for it by talking far, far too much. ---
**Author:** ![Kulau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b487fb/32.png) [@Kulau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kulau)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-talkative-are-you-away-from-your-keyboard/228505/15 "2004-02-11T05:08:23Z")
I’m definetly quite talkative in real life, I can be pretty opinionated too. When I’m around people I don’t know, especially if I’m in a group of people I don’t know, I tend to go pretty quiet though. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-talkative-are-you-away-from-your-keyboard/228505/16 "2004-02-11T05:25:02Z")
So, how talkative are you outside work and school? - Very. And yet I can be surprisingly withdrawn at times. Playing games in my mind to escape the boredom of certain people and places Can you talk to anyone? - Definitely. Every time I go out with friends or GFs, I end up meeting new people. From Xtian fundies to Zooroatronists, old or young, male female and in between. Annoys the heck out of GFs, but it’s just what happens. A friend once told me it’s the eye contact thing. Unlike most people, I seem to seek out eye contact, often without being of it. Do you have a good sense of humor in your opinion? - I try to. Especially where my own face is concerned. I don’t believe in saving face. I also don’t believe in putiing down anyone. I have an odd way about me I’m told. But it’s endearing to many (I’m also told). I can be quite nasty when anger or hate comes out, though. VERY mean and manipulative. Happens with less fequency and severity though, now that I’m aware of the tendencies. ---
**Author:** ![jastu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/43a26b/32.png) [@jastu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jastu)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-talkative-are-you-away-from-your-keyboard/228505/17 "2004-02-11T07:07:32Z")
I’m quiet and would rarely strike up a conversation with a stranger. My ex on the other hand would talk to anyone and everyone. I’d have to say 90% of the time it was NOT welcomed. Talkers take note…make sure the person is actually interested in listening to you before you start rattling on. ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-talkative-are-you-away-from-your-keyboard/228505/18 "2004-02-11T13:58:56Z")
_So, how talkative are you outside work and school?_ I’m not much of a talker in most settings. If I am with just one person I will do more talking, but if I am in a group of three or more I tend to be the quiet one who mostly listens, or I tune out the conversation if it’s nothing of interest to me. This applies to family, friends and co-workers alike. I don’t draw too much attention from strangers, either, which is just as well since I am not comfortable talking to people I don’t know. If a stranger says something I’m usually not prepared to respond and it makes me feel awkward and uneasy. _Can you talk to anyone?_ Hardly. I am quite shy and I find the prospect of talking to someone I don’t know rather daunting and intimidating. This is probably why I had few friends in school and why I have had very few girlfriends and am still single at nearly 34 years of age. _Do you have a good sense of humor in your opinion?_ Most people wold probably tell me that I don’t. What others find funny I don’t, and some of the things that are funny to me are lost on others. ---
**Author:** ![misstee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@misstee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/misstee)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-talkative-are-you-away-from-your-keyboard/228505/19 "2004-02-11T15:26:00Z")
_So, how talkative are you outside work and school?_ I don’t go to work or school, but I never shut up. _Can you talk to anyone?_ My mom always said I never knew a stranger. I find that to be very true. I can talk to anyone. I am sure I can find something to talk about to anyone I meet. I love talking to people and getting to know them. My three year old daughter is the same way. _Do you have a good sense of humor in your opinion?_ I think so. As long as I can laugh and have a good time, it’s all good. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![NE\_Texan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e99b99/32.png) [@NE\_Texan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NE_Texan)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-talkative-are-you-away-from-your-keyboard/228505/20 "2004-02-11T15:57:23Z")
I tend to be quite chatty with people I know well. With people I know less well, I generally make an effort to at least say hello and bring up something appropriate to talk about – and if the conversation continues from there, great; if not, I’ve done my part for being friendly. With strangers, though, I will not generally just strike up a conversation. I recognize that not everyone likes that, and many find it intrusive. On the other hand, if someone else starts it, I usually have no problem continuing it or chatting. Talking in person is very different from the internet, though. Here on the boards, I am generally looking for topics of interest. I can skip tons of thread, and I’m not rudely ignoring the people in them just because I have nothing to contribute there; I’ll contribute to the topic, whether I know the people or not. In person, the situation is reversed. I’m choosing the people to talk to, and the topics flow (or don’t flow) according to the interest of the people. So it’s a very different situation. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-talkative-are-you-away-from-your-keyboard/228505.md?page=2)