Tried to explain my special interest at a party and it backfired hard

So last weekend I was at a friend's gathering in Denver, and someone asked what I'm into. I got excited (my bad) and started talking about how vintage sewing machines work, like the mechanics of the bobbin and tension adjustments. I went on for maybe 5 minutes before I noticed everyone had wandered off to get drinks. My friend pulled me aside later and said I was 'dominating the conversation.' I felt horrible, I didn't even see it happening. How do you guys tell when you're info-dumping too much, or do you just avoid talking about your thing altogether?

3 comments

3 Comments

alice2422mo ago

Oh man, that's rough lol. I've been there where you don't even realize people are tuning out until it's way too late. Do you have any kind of go-to "check in" question you ask yourself while you're talking? Like do you pause to ask the other person something every few sentences, or do you just let the excitement take over? I'm genuinely curious cause I'm trying to train myself to notice when I'm doing it.

gavin_clark2mo agoMost Upvoted

Bobbin tension talk killed your party buzz lol maybe just skip the mechanical deep dives next time.

elliot_grant381mo ago

Do you ever set a timer on your phone? That helped me catch myself.