Never Ending Story...

You know the kind of person who never says much, but when they do, they are precise, to the point, say their piece, and then they're done?

That's not me.

I'm the sort who takes at least half an hour between the time they say, "Well I'd better head off now," and actually leave, and will still probably keep you on the doorstep for a further 20 minutes.

In essence, I have a problem with ending conversations. Something else always pops into my head that feels pertinent and worth saying.

And if I happen to be in the company of someone else like this then I'd better text my wife to let her know not to wait up.

In my past life as a web designer, 20 years ago, I used to go along to weekly, business networking, breakfast meetings, that were created to introduce you to other businesses and build business relationships. They started at 7am and finished promptly at 8.30am so they wouldn't interfere with your working day.

I met a graphic designer there and we became good friends. After each meeting we would wander out to the car park and would continue chatting for the next 2 to 3 hours. 

We'd never go and get a coffee somewhere, because somehow that would have been admitting we weren't going to get any work done that morning. Instead there would be at least a dozen times one of us would begin, "Well I'd better get back to the office," before we launched into another topic.

I've become even more aware of my inability to close a conversation since I began my podcasts. 

I'm never entirely sure quite how to end them.

I'll finish talking about the final photograph, and start saying, "Well that's it for this week..." and then remember to check the chat box to see if anyone has said anything. They usually have, so I'll respond to that, and then start the closing comments, and then remember to let people know what's coming up next week.

Then I'll check the chat again, and by the time I do get round to saying something like, "Have a good week and I'll see you next Sunday. Take care. Cheerio. Goodnight. Or I guess it's only good night in Asia as it's still afternoon here in Europe and Africa. And it's still morning in the Americas..." if you look carefully just before the end screen appears you might just notice my eyes flickering as I'm worrying I might have forgotten to say something important.

There's a craftsman I know who has a fascinating skill at being able to be warm and friendly, answer my questions, and yet deftly steer me out the door in under 5 minutes, before I've even had a chance to go off on my second tangent.

I have no idea how he does it as I'm always out on the street before I realise it's happened again and I've forgotten to ask him.

But I'm dead impressed.