Sunday, April 18, 2010

People on the autism spectrum have a tendency to talk non-stop about their "special interests" or obsessions. These conversations may end up being one sided if the other person has nothing to contribute or is uninterested in the topic at hand. It may be difficult for Aspies to know if they are boring the person that they are talking to. I found this article on PsychologyToday that may be helpful for people on the spectrum in helping to determine if you should find a different topic of discussion:
Eight Tips to Know if You're Being Boring

Paying close attention to how the person you are talking to responds and contributes to the conversation, as well as paying attention to body language (which can, admittedly, be difficult for a lot of people on the spectrum) can help you to learn to communicate in a way that makes people actually enjoy talking to you.

Another sign that wasn't listed in the article is if the other person is always looking at their watch. If they are checking the time frequently, they are probably wanting the conversation to be over soon.

The tips in that article can also help NTs, as Aspies/Auties don't exactly have a monopoly on being boring. :)

1 comments:

Gavin Bollard said...

Thanks for pointing out that article. It's great - and some of the other stuff it links to is great too.... and I'm guilty of being boring I think...

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