If you read the first one, you have an idea what this is about. If you haven’t, and don’t want to, I’ll reiterate. This is just a rambling post where I share my social shortcomings in the hopes that airing them will help me with them. Kind of wish you just went ahead and read the first post don’t you?

Where was I when everyone learned how to communicate clearly? I missed days in school, but not more than two in a row, and I never remember hearing about this. I don’t mean the enunciation of words and speaking slow enough that others have time to understand. I mean the fact that I speak in plain English, but get answers that are totally off base.

I once waited on a person that needed a lawn mower belt. This model had two; one that went from the engine to the deck, the other was on the deck itself. So I asked them, “Does it go from the engine to the deck or just stay on the deck itself.” I got a simple, but useless answer, “Yeah.”

I admit that I slur some of my words. I was in speech classes as a kid, but still have problems. But why is it that I can have perfect diction, and still get blank looks to easy questions. This is slightly ranting, but I’ll get it back to me.

This is my take on it, we don’t pay attention to others when they speak. I say that as a guilty party. In a discussion, I am often planning my next response before it’s my turn. That might help keep the flow going, but it can lead to misunderstandings.

Now, in my defense, I often look like that I am not paying attention because of my body language. I generally don’t look people in the eyes. I have a few reasons for this, all are true, but not everyone likes all of them. One is that I do better focusing on a fixed point. Eyes move, I get distracted. Another is I might be looking at what they are talking about. My favorite (I just like how it sounds) is that I am more comfortable if I cannot see you looking at me. I usually say that if I can’t see you, I figure you can’t see me. I can hide in plain sight.

Of course, I might really be distracted, but I don’t want to mention that. It makes me look bad.

That’s where my social trouble comes in. I’m awkward, and that might change over time. Until it does, I have trouble with people thinking that I’m more of a misfit than I really am.