My brother-in-law will go on like this with a story that seems like it's going somewhere, but then the stories never reach any meaningful conclusion. I'm not saying he keeps talking indefinitely, I'm saying he'll finish the story and there will have been no point. There's no big climax, there's no exciting or interesting conclusion at the end, he just tells you about some random, uninteresting part of his life as if it were a cool story to tell. He's the only person I've ever met who does this. It's really odd, and even after 20 years idk how to respond when he finishes.
Have you tried pointing that out, or maybe asking him relevant questions about it?
You realize he's trying to share a part of his life with you, and the goal is likely to create some sort of connection. Perhaps he's not very good at it and maybe his life really is very boring, but the reason he does it is likely because he's looking for someone take an interest in him.
His life is far from boring. He's awesome! He's a badass graphics designer with his own business and an art degree from a prestigious university. He's a bodybuilder with a successful YouTube fitness channel. He's a really good break dancer. He's a competitive BMX racer. And he's a hunter and outdoorsman. He's just really bad at telling stories for some reason, and always chooses pointless or boring experiences to share. We get along great, I just never know how to respond to his weird, pointless stories. Usually I'll wait to see if there's more, or if he's done, and I'll be like "haha... Cool.".
I saw that and thought, "They're probably bad if you use them by yourself, but I need those to make it through work so people will stop talking to me."
I mean yes, and that’s why I’d hesitate to call those a bad thing per se. Left on its own, the mind will simply continue to ruminate on everything that’s ever happened to you on this earth, and it will spin story after story explaining how you got to this particular point in your life. And there’s probably some value to it, because if you suppress this indefinitely, you WILL become a psychopath, but if don’t put a stop to it from time to time in order to take action, those stories will also never ever change.
So while they mighty be clichés, and certainly present opportunities for abuse, those thought ending statements can also have a productive use because without them you’ll simply get stuck in a Groundhog Day scenario based on your own life.
i don't even bother with anything that interactive, i just go "mhmm" and "hmm" and yet still people don't realize i'm starting to dissociate from boredom
I know a couple of blokes like this. Great stories, but pleeeease I have things to do. I wouldn't mind so much if it was a conversation but it's a monologue, with barely room for a "good grief" or "oh gosh". One of my friends now just says "I'm off, bye" and walks out, in the middle of a story about crocodiles in the Zambezi or whatever.
At the risk of explaining the obvious, that's the point. It's how people feign interest in others in order to maintain a socially acceptable level of friendship. The point of the meme isn't the words being used but their frequency. Basically, if you get THIS many dangs and yups in a row without a single actual question, that's a pretty clear hint the other person isn't actually THAT interested in your story but doesn't want to risk offending you by forcefully cutting you off.
Someone who's actually interested will ask you relevant questions. Dangs and yups are just encouragement to help you unburden yourself of your thoughts without them needing to take ownership for them.
Nonono, they are just stun by my amazing story telling! Just like that one time when I met that senior at Walmart and he like told me the story of a friends wedding and that was actually on a sunny Saturday, which by the way is my favourite day, since I was like in eighth grade. Man that was a wild time...
In all seriousness, thank you for explaining a side of the meme that wasn't obvious to me.