People who tell long, boring stories/jokes

Former Member

How do you deal with someone who frequently tells very long, boring stories / anecdotes / jokes - and why do they do it? Do they think they're entertaining - or do they just want people to listen to them? The worst part is when I don't react by laughing or being delighted, which they respond to by telling me that I "didn't get it". However, I do understand what they said - I just didn't find it in any way entertaining.

mica

Hey Robert,

This sounds like it's quite frustrating for you. I can definitely understand feeling misunderstood or annoyed when others blame you for not "getting" a joke when really you just don't think it's funny. I obviously can't speak for anyone else, but my guess would be that people tell long jokes/stories for both of those reasons. They probably think they're entertaining and/or they want people to listen to them. I'm not sure if this will work for you, and maybe other people will have other ideas, but whenever I don't find someone else's joke funny but don't want to sit frowning, I usually just make a polite smile. That way you are acknowledging that you heard, but you're not faking a laugh.

Perhaps that will work for you?

- Mica

Former Member

I've tried just smiling, but they find that to be very insufficient. They still tell me that I must not 'get it', otherwise I'd find it really interesting and funny. It's like they want to be congratulated for being so clever and/or funny. Merely having heard it isn't enough - they're expecting that I will think that what they said is genius.

A similar thing is when people boast about having done stupid things - and expect me to congratulate them. For example: "I got so smashed last night; I can't remember what happened. It must have been great, because I woke up in the morning in a skip, covered in my own vomit". Similar boasts involve accidents, fights etc. - and ending up in A&E or a police cell.