My Boyfriend Doesn’t Ask About My Life. Are We Doomed?
Evan,
I have been dating my current boyfriend for almost a year now and things are good between us. We’re exclusive, I don’t doubt that he loves me and sees a future together, and he treats me very well. I really don’t mind his messy piles of clothes on the floor or his ineptitude in the kitchen. I don’t even care that he makes half the money I do. I’m just so thrilled that he’s sensitive, attractive, affectionate, and attentive, and that he chose me! He’s even commented about how happy he is with me because I’m so easy-going. It seems like a match made in heaven and I’m crazy about the guy. Except for one thing. And I just can’t tell if it should be a deal-breaker or not.
My concern is that he never asks me questions about who I am. He wouldn’t know anything about me if I didn’t volunteer it. I’ve always been the type to want to know everything about the person I’m in love with and I ask a million questions. I’ve asked him why he doesn’t have a curiosity about the experiences that have made me who I am or the dreams I have for my life, and his response has been “You tell me everything I need to know, why do I need to ask?” But if he only knew how much he doesn’t know! Some tough subjects just don’t come up over the dinner table. He has acknowledged my concern, but nothing has changed and I know I can’t make him change; but I thought by now we’d be closer emotionally because of the intimate things we know about each other that no one else does (or very few). A perfect example is the time we were discussing guns and I’d told him I’d never owned one because I am a felon. Wouldn’t you want to know about your girlfriend’s criminal history? Not him, apparently, and he still doesn’t.
I’ve never dated anyone before who didn’t ask at least an occasional question and it bothers me. If I start telling a story from my childhood or discussing my day at work, I think “He doesn’t care about this or he would have asked,” and I find myself cutting it short or not even bringing it up in the first place. Things are wonderful in so many other ways but this is beginning to really weigh on me and I’d love your advice from a man’s perspective: Is he a keeper? Is there a way I can naturally pique his curiosity? Can a man really be this poor at communicating? Thanks for your input/feedback. —Holly
I’m with you, Holly.
I don’t get people like this. I, too, am inquisitive, and am perpetually shocked when others are not just less inquisitive, but not remotely curious about me. No, “How’s your business going?” or “What are you working on next?” or “What’s your favorite part of being a father?”
You’re not going to win many friends if you never make anyone else in the world feel interesting.
The crazy thing is — as you’ve already acknowledged when you said your boyfriend is “sensitive, attractive, affectionate, and attentive,” these types of folks aren’t “bad” people.
But they are CLUELESS people who would be well-served to pick up a copy of Dale Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends and Influence People”.
You’re not going to win many friends if you never make anyone else in the world feel interesting.
Which only provokes me to ask the obvious question: how did you let a disinterested guy like this become your boyfriend?
Wasn’t it obvious after, oh, I don’t know — Date 1 — that his conversational skills were all about what was going on in his life, at his job, what he saw on TV, his funny stories from college?
If you’re pretty, nice, and accept him as he is, he’s probably gonna be a happy camper.
Didn’t it bother you from the get-go that he couldn’t even feign interest in what makes you tick? Or did it really take a year to dawn upon you that you are pretty much a stranger to your own boyfriend — and that he primarily likes you because you’re pretty and patient?
Maybe I’m a little egocentric, but that shit wouldn’t fly with me. I love the fact that my wife wants to know everything about me — stories of crazy ex-girlfriends, old family photo albums, dusty old screenplays sitting in the back of my closet. The fact that she cares enough to be curious about my past is immeasurably warming and comforting. And even if I’m not as interested in her past as she is in mine, I can still name all of her family members, friends, exes, and co-workers.
Yeah, between us, there aren’t many silences in the Katz household.
As for whether he’s a keeper, whether you can pique his curiosity and if he can really be this poor at communicating, those answers are yes, no, and yes.
This is your boyfriend. He ain’t changing. If you can live with this, because he’s a kind, loyal person with a solid job and strong values, I wouldn’t judge you. Hell, you’ve survived this long and said that things were “good”. And if you bring it up with him and discover that this is as deep as he goes, you wouldn’t be out of line to think you could have a stronger connection with a guy who actually cares what comes out of your mouth.
But the more important overarching lesson to women is this:
Holly’s boyfriend isn’t an anomaly. This is why it’s not nearly as important how many degrees you have, languages you speak, countries you’ve seen or books you’ve read. If you’re pretty, nice, and accept him as he is, he’s probably gonna be a happy camper.
I have 2 things to say:
1) I agree with what you said in your answer.
2) Evan, congratulations for baby no. 2! Your last newsletter moved me to tears. It was SO inspirational. I also loved the fact that you attached a photo of your wife with the little one. You have such a wonderful family!
Sorry for blurting it out here in the comment section – but i just wanted to declare my ever-lasting admiration and respect for you in front of all the people reading this! You rock!
Hi Evan,
my interjection here is basically to say ditto to Ileana’s comment. We so very much appreciate you, and wish you every blessing and good fortune in your personal life. You have my deep respect and admiration too.
You do indeed rock.
From Caroline, who is the Queen of Questions (I have only met two people in my life that I couldn’t think of more than one question to ask. They were HARD work conversationally. Usually I don’t have enough time to ask, and get answers for, all the questions that are sparked and come to mind when I meet people. I am an introvert too, but I don’t understand Holly’s man).
I’m Evan Marc Katz and I approve of this message.
Wait-you’re a felon? I might not have been sleeping with you for the past year but I certainly want to hear more!
I had a boyfriend like this. We are now ‘just friends’ and I am still amazed at how he can go on and on about every thing under the sun … except me or anything about me or even anything I am interested in. I share nothing with him and my whole value to him is if I am nice and friendly and quickly change the subject when he tells me he doesn’t want to talk about something.
I know that’s why our relationship failed and I’m not sad. It is truly as he deep as he goes.
you just summed up my ex, he never asked about my life EVER he was only interested in his own even though he swore he loved me. No effort was ever made to ask me any questions and we were in a three year relationship. I went overseas 5 times during that time he had zero interest in asking me about my travels. Now we’ve finally split up because I need to be with someone who shows an interest as I do them really he was a total narcissist..Im sad burelieved at the same time!
Yes indeed he is a narcissist. My daughter’s father never asked what daycare she was in, what schoo, what grade etc. Except once he had to pick her up in 6th grade and asked where is the school. Didn’t care about the name of the school either. It’s a mental disease
A normal girlfriend would be thrilled to know about your adventures overseas. A guy friend should be even more intrigued.
I had a boyfriend like this as well. One time he did ask me a question concerning my feelings on an aspect of child-rearing. Well, I had a rather long, philosophical answer, but he cut me off and dismissed it as a “political rant”. That was the first time it really struck me he didn’t have much interest in my thoughts, feelings, opinions, experiences, etc. Basically, he was interested in me as a PERSON. We spent most of the relationship discussing his feelings and experiences. Given my nature is to be more of a listener, it took awhile for me to even notice, sadly. Looking back, I realized he never knew me, and he could not have loved me, because love is not selfish and isnt solely about how someone makes you feel. It is also about valuing someone deeply for who they are as a whole, separate person. There cannot be true intimacy if the emotional exchange only runs one way.
The last paragraph in this article is a bit disturbing because it suggests many men mainly view women as accessories to their life – an object to fulfill their personal needs (sexual and emotional). It suggests that they cannot offer real love and intimacy. That is precisely the thing that leaves some women to become dissatisfied with their marriage and to leave or have an emotional affair (which is inexcusable, but not without explanation).
So emotional affairs in a love-starved marriage is “inexcusable”, but one spouse viewing the other as a mere object for sexual/emotional/housework gratification is not?
The real litmus test for me would be if he is actually listening to what I’m saying, and can he remember what I’ve told him. So he doesn’t ask the right questions (which would bug me, too) but at least if he’s interested in hearing what I have to say- I could probably live with it. I guess it’s the difference between poor communication skills and just plain old not giving a shit.
Maybe you can give him a really simple request like- ‘It would make me happy if you asked how my day was when I get home’ If he’s willing, I think that would also say a lot about his desire to fulfill little requests that make you feel good- and that’s what would be most important to me. If that’s too much effort on his part it might not be a good sign.
Ditto! Great reply. I completely agree. Kinda dealing with the same situation now but, as Alyssa said, I can tell he’s genuinely engaged, looking me in the eyes, etc so I think that’s the test. I know how you feel though, it really made me feel like he was not interested in getting to know “me” at all, but look for clues in the future that shows he was listening in the past. In the past couple months, I’m suprised how he noticed things that I talked to him about.. And not just noticed, but actually can tell he thought a lot about. I realized that, for as much of an extrovert my guy is, he is really introspective. I think the sensitivity outweighs the rest. I’ll take that any day of my manipulative narcissistic ex! 🙂 give it time though, if he doesn’t show any signs he’s actually been listening, or shows that he hasn’t been listening at all, ditch em! Good luck!
The OP wrote,”A perfect example is the time we were discussing guns and I’d told him I’d never owned one because I am a felon. Wouldn’t you want to know about your girlfriend’s criminal history? Not him, apparently, and he still doesn’t.”
What was his response, “Oh, that’s nice, honey”? That isn’t something you tell just anyone. I’m gobsmacked that he didn’t ask about this! How does he handle it when there are problems or something goes wrong?
BTW, Evan, hearty congratulations on the birth of your son!
EMK, I think you are almost always right on with your advice and I’m very appreciative of your high quality writing. This post is no exception. (And a congratulations to the happy, chatty Katz household, too!)
One of the few priceless pieces of dating advice that was not penned by you was this simple advice: if you want to know how much a man likes you, pay attention to his interest level in you. Does he ask you questions? Is he curious about who you are? Those are the things you should pay attention to.
I’ve been with guys who were a little self-focused on first and second dates when they were nervous, but the ones who went on to become good boyfriends — all of them — were people who were curious about me.
Granted, I, too, think there are people out there who are not that deep and who just aren’t that curious. My sense when reading this blog and the regular posters in the comments section is that many of the people are communicators. I can’t speak for other people’s values, but I can tell you that having lived in a lonely marriage for a long time, it isn’t any fun when your spouse seemingly doesn’t give a crap about you, isn’t interested in anything about you and you aren’t sure if they even know your middle name. Let me tell you that if it bothers you now, it might really bother you when the gilding wears off a couple of years from now.
It’s fine to want to marry, but I would encourage people who are thinking about living with an issue like this one to think long and hard about what their future might realistically look like.
Ditto. Ugh.
I thought my husband was not a very good communicator.
Cut to 10 yrs later, he truly is just not interested in anything but his own life, and the things that interest him (superhero movies and karate).
BORING!
Great abs, yes. Great sex, yes. But man do I carry the burden of getting any conversations rolling! Surprisingly, when I do work my ass off, he can be coaxed into learning new things and showing interest. I drag him all over to galleries, museums, etc. and he does open up. Without me, it would just be the tv and movies I believe! Unfortunately, I do have to volunteer about my daily bits and pieces and ask, “Are you listening” about every two minutes. Usually, he is not.
If I had the chance to choose again, I would maybe have chosen differently.
It’s never too late to make changes and be happy!
My ex-husband of 30 years, at the mediator for the last time, said there was a “mistake” on the documents. My middle name was spelled wrong? “It isn’t Anne with an e is it?” he asked. The lawyer and I looked at him dumbfounded. 30 years and he didn;t know how to spell my middle name. This is a guy with a high IQ and low EQ! I shook my head and thought, This explains a lOT!
lol wow
My bf of 5 years (soon to be ex) doesn’t know my eye color is green.
I’ve been married to a man like this for 28 years. Raised the children practically all by myself. I can’t take it anymore and I’m flying the coop. The marriage was always the least important priority. I wouldn’t wish a man like this on anyone. Once a bore always a bore.
I think part of it may be that guys EXPECT women to just start dispensing information, whether they ask or not. They kind of think women like to talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, and never stop talking. Problem is there is a lot of women who love to talk….and those who dont.
Im one those rare chick who do not talk for the sake of talking. I can grow through days where I can say very little; I mind my own business. I dont really volunteer information unless explicitly asked.
What I am guessing is that your man is a ‘listener.’ He expects to listen and cater to you, rather than be explicit in his language and actions. Thats my guess. I find that Doers or action-oriented people are prone to talk more and ask direct questions, whereas shyer or laidback people are more likely to listen and keep to themselves. It just may be a personality/behavior trait.
I agree Moe,
My bf is a very good listener and when I asked if he was curious about me because I’m starting to wonder why it seems he doesn’t ask as many questions about me as I do him, and his reply was, “I suppose I feel you’ll tell me if you want me to know”. So to him, it’s respecting my privacy.
In addition, he’s very observant – he generally knows how I’m feeling before I realize it myself.
So even though it’s true that there are clueless men and women out there, we have our own way of relating to the world and sometimes we just need to understand where they’re coming from and give them the benefit of the doubt (there must be a good reason for this that makes sense to this person, that may not be apparent to me right at this moment).
I’ve been living a similar life for 21 years with my husband (and that’s why I’m on this site to see if at the ripe old age of 38 years old I can leave him and find true love). I met my husband when I was just a teenager and he was my first boyfriend (infact my first kiss). Because of my ethnic background and our culture (1/2 Lebanese 1/2 Greek) where men are hesitant to share their emotions and thoughts, I believed that men just couldn’t be deep.
However, this year, I met a guy who’s 10 years my junior and he knows how to share his deepest thoughts. I was gobsmacked to realise I spent most of my life with someone who I have never connected with. He makes no effort to converse with me but I’m not sure if it’s laziness or just indifference on his part. From your post, it appears your man seems to share a little about himself which is different from my husband (I’m not sure who has it worse lol). This one is so hard. Over the past two decades, I have felt VERY lonely when I see other couples talking (he also doesn’t show physical affection either) but someone once told me not to expect your partner to be your everything and emotional bonding is what girlfriends are for. Some lucky girls have the guys who know how to bond with emotional intimacy.
Ask yourself if he would make a good life term partner. Will he make a wonderful father. How would he support you when things dont go well in your personal life/work life.
If I could do my time again, I would pick a more sensitive and attentive male who can articulate his thoughts. With communication you can solve everything.
I think you and I may be twins married to the same guy.
I’m fresh out and still confused, but learning. Why didn’t I walk, why did I allow this, where was my self esteem?! A friend would have been cut loose. Heck my dog is more interested in where I’ve been in my day… Thanks to Evan’s perspective and a couple other blogs, I’m starting realize that no, this is not, as he said, “just what happens to people in relationships” and that my expectations of affection, intimacy and honest interest were not, “unrealistic, so stop fantasizing.”
My man was near genius, but dense like a rock when it came to women, friendships or family. If I ever decide I am ready to try a commitment again, (I’m quite gun shy right now, and focusing on my healthy redevelopment), I too would choose a man with a heart stitched on his sleeve. I’m an alpha magnet, but a lil more beta would be a treat!
These men I’m reading about by the poster and in the comments sound like men with traits of Asperger’s syndrome. Someone go check them out.
Yes!!
So many times yes.
8 years w a man like this.
All i really need to ask is is this ok for me. Is this as happy with a man as i want to be.
If ur asking this… Thats says something doesnt it. Otherwise… Why would you even be thinking about this.
Exactly this! I am with a partner who is completely odd. He can’t offer any meaningful support if I am down. He has never asked about my history, though he does listen to me when I talk about issues. He asks questions and then changes the subject, even if it’s clear I am upset. Asperger’s is my diagnosis and I am a psychologist. Breaking free from this one, even though he has some lovely qualities. Overall it is just too frustrating and lonely.
I just replied and suggested this as well. I am pretty sure this is whats the center of all her concerns .
It’s none of my business, but reading your comment makes me feel so sad and rooting for you to leave your husband! You absolutely deserve someone you can truly connect and talk with, and that cares about you and appreciates you as a person. I don’t think that is not asking too much from a life partner/husband, in fact I think it is a very reasonable expectation. And 38 is still young to start again!
I guess the question is Holly, are you happy with someone like this? As someone who does have three degrees, has lived and worked abroad and reads lots of books, I don’t think I would like being with someone who showed no interest in any of it but that’s just me.
Evan, congratulations to you and your wife on the birth of your son! I hope you will have a lifetime of happy memories together, and that your son will start sleeping through the night as quickly as possible. 😉
As to Holly’s questions: For me, at least, she doesn’t give enough information to make a judgment for or against her man. Holly, is this a man who loves to talk about himself, but never lets you get a word in edgewise? Or is he silent all around, so he doesn’t ask questions about you, but then he doesn’t talk much about himself either?
I would have more tolerance for the latter type. That’s the “strong, silent type,” and it’s nothing to take personally. If you wind up marrying this man, you would have a lifetime to learn about each other. Neither my husband nor I are big talkers, and we don’t have conversations where we keep asking the other person about his background, history, etc. Honestly, if we had to spend time with someone who did that to us, we’d probably feel annoyed, and think the other person was being intrusive. Then, if someone specifically said to either of us, “Why don’t you ever ask me questions about myself?”, umm… sorry, but we’d probably be even less likely to do so after that. We’d feel forced to make the type of conversation we don’t usually make, and no one likes to be pressured.
But if your man is the type who goes on and on about himself and has no interest in you… I’d flee.
Holly, Ditch the chump. I dated a guy just like yours – kind, affectionate, caring – except he never ever asked about me. I had to leave him. Don’t settle. There are guys out there who can form complete sentences and ask questions. Find someone who suits your own style of relating.
EMK, I love your site. I’ve been lurking for a few months now and I hope you don’t mind I’m going to steal some of that letter you wrote to your baby for my own son. hugs.
As someone who’s once been accused of doing pretty much the same thing as Holly’s boyfriend, I’ll have to go against the flow on this one. Personally, I like to talk, but I equally like to listen. I have many cool stories to share, and so do the men that I’ve dated. I have no problem sharing mine, and I love listening to them share theirs — people have told me some pretty amazing stuff about themselves in the past. That said, here’s one thing I do not like. I don’t like it if I’m always the only one talking. I do not like it if, whenever I stop talking, dead silence ensues. I do not like it if the other person would not volunteer anything about themselves and I have to give them the third degree to learn anything about their past, dreams, aspirations etc. I can learn to do it, but do not particularly enjoy it. One of the reasons being, I cannot tell if and when I’ve crossed the line between being interested in the person and being nosy. Everyone has their own boundaries, and if you give me no indication what yours are, then how do I know when I’ve crossed them? If my SO told me that he was a felon and then stopped right there and added nothing else to that info, I guarantee you I’d assume that he does NOT want to talk about it with me — at least, not yet — which is cool because he has a right to his privacy in a question as delicate as that. In that case, i would most definitely not pry. But I would feel really let down if he then turned on me and accused me of being uninterested in him, just because I hadn’t backed him up against the wall and badgered him till he gave up the information! This, BTW, is exactly how I understand Holly’s BF’s statement, “You tell me everything I need to know, why do I need to ask?” In his mind, if she doesn’t tell him something, then she does not want him to know that something at this point. The man is being respectful — which ties in perfectly with Holly referring to him as being “sensitive, affectionate, and attentive”! I cannot believe he’s getting flak for this from Holly, Evan, and just about everyone on this thread! Sheesh.
I’m not even going to go into the “why don’t you ask me about things you don’t know about” piece. How can he ask about something that he doesn’t know exists? it’s illogical. Hey why didn’t anyone on this thread ask me about the movie I saw last night? because you didn’t know I was on this thread, and because you didn’t know I saw a movie last night. Should I be offended? Are you being insensitive to me because of this?
Goldie…I agreed with some of what you said but if someone drops, “I can’t have a gun because I am a felon.” They just told me and so I would be inclined to at least ask, “can you elaborate?” The fact that it was even offered probably means you are invited to ask them to expound. That is a bombshell. So if they drop it and you started questioning, they should not be surprised or then feel that now you are prying. Unless they dropped it and immediately said, “…but I don’t want to talk about it!” At some point though, it will need discussing. A potential spouse needs to know all gun incidents lol for their own safety, and to be sure they are not marrying someone who has a long rap sheet or is unstable. But many people would be a little shocked and at least say, “WTH!! WHAT HAPPENED!” before even thinking to control a response.
“I can’t have a gun because I’m a felon”, but doesn’t elaborate, tells me that’s all they want to discuss about it. My prying would be just that – prying.
I think this just goes to show that we don’t know enough about the OP’s situation, what it really looks like, what’s really going on.
I don’t think it would be considered prying when you’ve been with someone for a year, sleep with them, eat dinner each night together… that’s a level of intimacy that makes more intimate topics ON the table.
Good point Goldie & I appreciate your perspective, as it was very insightful. I fully appreciate someone being respectful of another’s privacy during conversations. However, there does come a time in a relationship where in order to go deeper, one must dive. I wholeheartedly agree with your logic argument of someone not being able to ask if they do not know something exists. The challenge is to know where those boundaries lie, for how long and can true intimacy be achieved if certain areas are not explored. Just a thought.
I see your point of view here, but, I think you are misunderstanding. You can sense when someone is interested. I think even if questions are not asked, then, when, for instance, stories are shared a bit, you can tell when someone is thinking of something else, disinterested, or just not indicating that they’d like to know more, for the sake of understanding you.
You said it.
” its illogical.”
As i said before been with a guy like OPs bf for 8 years.
My bf is just an extremely LOGICAL ( as he would respond to this) as he would say thinker. It doesnt matter about this – this is HIM. HIS PERSONALITY.
Like the answer in the post,
You KNEW he was like that. Its been fine and was fine obviously for you for awhile. Now if you are thinking this its YOU who has changed. Maybe this jyst isnt ok for you anymore.
But dont knock the guy. Or anybody this way, its their personality. Unique to them.
1) …because we all ask our dates whether or not they’re convicted felons, right?
2) Maybe he doesn’t ask questions because you do all the talking?
Joe’s girlfriend is named Smirnoff.
Goldie, how was the movie you watched last night? 😉
No, as you can see, I agreed earlier with both you and Joe (#11). Holly needs to understand that not everyone is a blirter as she apparently is, and that when we don’t ask probing questions, it’s a sign that we respect someone – not that we don’t care.
I didn’t see her as a “blirter.” I see her as someone who wants what she considers a more normal level of attention from her SO. She is doing what she can to save the relationship.
My boyfriend also doesn’t actively ask about my past. He does listen and he does remember what I say. He remembers things about my past that I’ve forgotten that I have told him.
I also have a feeling that a lot of guys have this. I regularly tell my boyfriend about stuff going on his closest friends/family.
me: “I hope Mark has grown up and stopped dating that 19 year old”
him: “wait… what… ”
me: “its been going on for a month sweetie”
him: “i should know this”
I think the explanation is given right here: ‘his response has been “You tell me everything I need to know, why do I need to ask?”’
Sounds to me like he trusts Holly to tell him everything she wants him to know, and he isn’t going to pry into the things she wants to keep secret. Maybe he thinks asking about that stuff is rude, or maybe he just doesn’t want to push for stuff that isn’t on offer. (For example, maybe he thinks Holly doesn’t like to talk about the details of her conviction.)
One thing that is glaring in its absence from Holly’s account is what interest, if any, she pays to his life? Does she ask the questions of him that she wishes he would ask her? Does he talk about himself a lot without being asked? Does she know as much about him as he does about her, even?
Hi all, I’m a first time responder after sitting back and reading this blog for a year or so. There have been lots of issues I have wanted to respond to but I guess have always been too lazy to but this one really strikes a chord with me.
I’m a 41yo, professional, single girl from Australia who has been dating for a couple of years and I am so with Evan on this one. I can not tell you how many times I have met a guy in person for the first time (through online dating) and have come away thinking ‘well they know nothing about me because they didn’t ask a thing’. And no, its not because I sit there talking about myself. On the contrary I, like one of the other respondents here, have a genuine interest in getting to know someone so I ask lots of questions, I engage and I listen. I leave plenty of silent moments so that the man has an opportunity to initiate conversation/questions and nothing happens. I had one date where the guy sat there for 3 hours talking about himself and his career (upon questions from me) and then when he walked me to the cab said ‘oh by the way, what do you do for a living anyway’. I used to say to my friends that my dates were always so easy, and relaxed but its been pointed out to me that I’m the one making it easy as I drive the conversation and ask the questions. I’ve realised that this is true so now I pull back from that but I find the dates are then excruciating because then there is no conversation. I find it just so disappointing that some men either just have no interest in getting to know someone at a deeper level or alternatively do not have the necessary skills.
I really feel for Holly and I’m not sure that I could stay in a relationship like that. To me that would always feel like things were on the surface. You want someone to want to dig deeper, want to know you, understand you. And its fine if some people are not like that but if the fact that they aren’t like that means that you aren’t getting some of your needs met then that is an issue. For me it is definitely a deal breaker.
Well said. I completely agree. I too am very interested in learning about other people, their lives, pasts, their aspirations for the future, career, family. I also tend to drive certain conversations. Upon realizing this, I have drawn back. This usually makes the encounter very painful with long stretches of cricket concert (silence) and no real interest in who I am as a person. One sided conversations are very painful also, with the person constantly talking about how wonderful he is and then as an afterthought, maybe asking about a tiny part of my life. People who are very good at conversation or love to communicate have a difficult time sometimes with those who do not. I do not enjoy just sitting and looking pretty or being there just for physical interaction. We have to connect on other levels and this is done by communicating and being interested.
I know what you mean about “one sided conversations”. I don’t like a guy who asks a billion questions but tells me nothing of himself, nor do I like a guy who only talks about himself and doesn’t seem interested in finding out about me.
I dislike those one sided convos also, no matter which side I’m on.
You could probably survey 50 people who have interacted with me, and some would probably describe me as “chatty” others as a “good listener” some would say I’m “too quiet” and others would say that I’m fun to talk with. Because when two or more people are conversing, it is a DYNAMIC. I think many people aren’t monolithically quiet, chatty, etc. in their conversational style, but rather that it is an interaction.
With people who have NOTHING or very little to say, I tend to try to fill up the space with my talking. I have tried letting the silence go on, but it really gets very uncomfortable when you say a few sentences and then stop, and get NO RESPONSE at all. Or you ask an open ended question and get a monosyllabic response or an evasive non answer.
On the other hand, I did go on an initial meet and greet with a man who wouldn’t let me get a word in edgewise. On the rare occasion that I was allowed to contribute, his response was to interupt with “That’s Stupid” or some other argumentative thing. He told me that I was a “good listener”. I just smiled and nodded, but what I really wanted to say was “Well I had no choice, you didn’t let me get a word in edgewise and when I did your response was rude”. But no, I just smiled and nodded, and needless to say, never saw him again.
If a guy has nothing to say or doesn’t let me get a word in edgewise, to me that’s an indication that we are not a good match. I like it when I am with someone and our conversation is like a pleasant game of ping pong, where the conversation is a balance mix of sharing of ourselves.
Oh so agree. I met a man four months ago at a conference and then again a month later at another one. We had nice pleasant conversations.
He contacted me a couple of weeks after the second conference and basically said he wanted to get to know me, because he wanted to see if we could build a relationship together.
But when not in person, he shows absolutely no interest in my whatsoever. I’ve discussed this with me and he is making an attempt. What I do if he gives me nothing but monosyllabic replies and asks no questions is ask if he is busy. He always says no. I say I’m going to leave and do something. And I leave. I’ve also learned not to reach out to him but let him come to me, because he usually will talk then.
We are meeting in person again in six weeks and I really want to see how that goes, because his lack of questions makes me feel like he doesn’t give a shit about me and is only interested in a physical relationship. We have not been physical yet, and I’m wondering if I’ll ever hear from him again afterwards.
Yet, I ask myself why a man would spend months chatting with me, and I use that term very loosely, if he is only interested in sex? Then I wonder if I am nothing but a distraction, because his elderly mother lives with him and he must care for her a great deal.
I don’t know. He told me also that I’m pretty up-front about my life, but I then told him I had not told him the important stuff. He said that I will when I’m ready. I asked him how he knows he wants to spend the rest of his life with me if he knows nothing about me? He said he knew the first time he met me. He said if I really wanted to know him well, watch John Wayne movies. I’ve watched four to date and he will discuss these with me. He says it is all about never having to explain yourself to anyone and he gives others the same right.
Holly,
You told your boyfriend you’re a convicted felon and he still trusts you??? Hang on to that prince of a man. You may not find another!!
The fact that he does not ask you about your life is not a lack of interest, it means he respects you!
Please don’t hurt him!!!
Sorry, but I have to call foul here.
The dude doesn’t bother to ask how her day was. That is a lot more problematic than somebody simply trying not to pry or respecting their SO’s boundaries on sensitive issues. It also makes for a very lonely partnership, imo.
Yes thanks for calling bs on it Sarahrahrah! LOL