How long have you ....

What I want to know is.......

......smorggy, is that really you now?



Exactly as I pictured you. :wink:

Isn't it that women use about 20,000 words per day and men use only
500?

I can talk for hours on end, and you'll give me a glass of wine I may
never stop.

I think that's about right, CJ. Although I'd hate to restrict myself to a mere 20,000.

Most of my female colleagues put their mouths in for a 200, 000 word service every four weeks or so.

I wouldn't mind if their blabbering made any kind of sense.

Not like me, wot? I never waffle.

I gave a six hour lecture once - well, there were breaks.

I'm quite the babblefish as most here could guess. But - I can also sit through social events hardly talking, mostly listening. I used to be shy (can hardly remember this) but now when I'm quiet at a gathering it is usually because I'm interested in the discussion and it's doing fine without me piping up. Other times I seem to be holding court. That happens sometimes when people find me funny, so it tends to be associated with certain findmefunny people and doesn't usually happen otherwise. I get funnier, to myself and that other person, at least for a bit.

More of a listener than a talker.

More of a reader than a poster.

you mean

at some point in my life time, i am supposed to STOP talking?


>walks away mumbling to self<

just letting you know that people listen when you talk...

I think they forgot to install an off switch for me.


Sometimes I can go literally days without speaking <that definitely means the dogs aren't around>, but generally, I've got an opinion and a willingness to express myself

Oh, any kind of talking? Not just the work-related variety?
Well, in that case .... don't start me going on certain political issues close to my heart, or you could become very, very sorry!

Ya know, I've been thinking about this since 2Packs' post, and then JPB's post in response.

Why is it that some posters (like 2Packs) have such clear voices that we 'recognize them' within a coupla dozen posts?

Others, pffffffft, thousands of posts and I don't recall ever seeing them anywhere - and when I track back their posts I realize I've seen their words, but never caught their 'voice'.

style
ehbeth: very astutely observed. I think this clarity of voice goes beyond just using a clear writing style (though this helps a lot) and gets us to the heart of a person's personality. Of course, some people don't know what they want to say and that obscures the voice. Editing and having focus aids us in hearing this voice and makes us WANT to listen closer.

Think of an in-person interview ... after 3 minutes some people stand out because of their animation, their expression, their ability to captivate your attention using eye contact, etc. With some, it's not even as calculated an effect as they just can't help it. They do this naturally because of their personal magnetism.

Well, in writing, words are our clothes, either worn with a design or a flair, or tossed on haphazardly. I call this street slovenly -- baggy pants with shirt hanging half out. Perhaps secure and thoughtful people use this voice of theirs better than those with indistinctly voiced ones.

Ms Beth

I've started to respond to your post/Ragmans about a dozen times...but each time I fail to find the right words to satisfy myself...I just ain't happy with it. So, I'm going to plow through it plain and simple.

Thank you, being told that my writing style, or my style of writing is recognisable...the whole clarity of voice thing...is about as good a compliment as someone who thinks of themselves as a "writer" can get. Regardless of the fact that you...or anyone else for that matter...either like or dislike the "voice", the point still stands, and I appreciate it.

I also pride myself on not only writing, whether in ink, felt tip pen, or those little cheap pencils that break when I try to write with a degree of emphasis......with consiseness, but also speaking my words in a verbalising sort of way so that people who happen to be within hearing distance can understand what I'm saying without too much bemusement of the scratching the head variety.

I am therefore experiencing surprise, at various times of the day, including those fleeting moments of mental blankness when either the TV commercials are on, or the room is quiet and my cat is trying it's utmost to stare me out, that you didn't feel the inner urge to give me a mention with regards to this sort of clariosity, ebeth.

I am hurt, I tell you.

As a dive instructor I sometimes hold 3-4 hour lessons.
It would be an awful instruction, though, if the students weren't participating, so I don't speak without interruption.

So I would say, maybe 20 minutes...