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How to Avoid Getting Bored During a Conversation

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Some folks become quite boring during a conversation, and you are not an exception. Many conversations actually boring themselves. It is not hard to avoid them, but it is not entirely easy either.

Steps

1. Attempt to induce embarrassment in your conversation partner. Behaviours such as excessively sharing personal information, asking personal questions and making comments that you anticipate will result in nervous and embarrassed laughter are a sure fire way to add interest to a boring conversation. Examples include, ‘Yes I love travelling too. But there are so many negative things that can happen, like once I had diarrhoea in Bolivia and the toilet didn’t have toilet paper so I had to wipe it with this finger here,’ or ‘Do you ever turn your underpants inside out when you don’t have any spares?’ Be careful not to completely offend the other person, unless you foresee the conversation will continue to waste minutes of your life that you will never get back.
   
2. Have ways in which you suggest to a person that they are being boring but in a half-joking manner. A succinct and direct way to do this is by saying, ‘Wow, that was a great story. AND you told it so well.” Sometimes, depending on the dynamic and the individual themselves they may become offended, and it is important to consider sundry reactions such as violent swearing to a slap on the face. When you say this, ensure the dynamic is right and also say it with a smile on your face to insinuate a joke.
   
3. Some conversations may not just be boring, but may offend you in some way. The best way to handle this situation is by telling them in the most direct way possible, leaving nothing to subtlety. An example might be; ‘You know what, (this political person) is (something synonymous to ‘not a nice person’) and I believe (insert opinion here). If a conversation offends you, as a general rule you are permitted to offend the other person. The high-road is to excuse yourself, however quite often emotions such an indignant anger can stifle the motivation to do so.
   
4. Subtlety is not always a bad thing- you can insinuate to the person that you don’t find their conversation thrilling through body language. Examples include not making eye-contact and glancing around the room, laughing at things that are happening around you when the other person is mid-sentence and interrupting them mid-sentence with a completely different topic. All of these things should clearly imply your lack of interest in the conversation.
   
5. If all of these overt and covert cues fail, CUT YOUR LOSSES. Not all conversations are going to be enjoyable and/or mentally stimulating. Excuses such as ‘I have to go to the bathroom’ or ‘I’m going to get another drink’ are great ways you can remove yourself from a person without having to return. And, because you never implied that you would return you technically can’t get into trouble.
   

Tips

• Being radical isn't always a bad thing.
  
• Feel free to voice your opinions but ensure you do so in a tactful, diplomatic way. Unless they REALLY don't get the point, whereby it's almost advised to be direct for their own sake.
  
• Alcohol in the correct amounts can almost always make a conversation interesting. Excessive drinking is not, however, advisable, even if a conversation is really really boring.
  

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