The Joy Of The Bore

Joy and boredom are two words not often associated with each other…no matter how you personally define them.

We have all met bores…and we have all been bores at some time or other. Admit this to yourself at the start and you will become more comfortable. Boredom is a human condition, and necessary for good mental health.

The party bore is a private misery out in public. When they fasten upon you there are a few things you can do:

a. Endure the experience with a drink in one hand and your head in the other.

b. Give a yelp of pain and run for the exit.

c. Engage the bore upon the very subject that they persist with. Question and listen as carefully as you can.

That last may sound like pain redoubled, but it is the secret to learning. The bore is a fount of knowledge – flawed though it may be – and seeks only to gush. Let them. Help them. Appreciate them, and learn from them.

Once you have escaped – and you will escape when the dinner gong is sounded or the taxi arrives at the door – you will leave behind someone who admires and supports you; a valuable social acquisition. You have validated them by listening, and have risen in their estimation.

It was a price, but you paid it, and you may be surprised at what benefit it may be in the future.