Hate to be ignored in conversation!
I am studying in a Visual Arts course in Australia and is always wanting to expand my circle with my classmates, particularly female, but recently I found the result is quite.....unsatisfactory. It is by no mean fruitless, I managed to befriend with a few classmates (mostly Aspies, no I didn't ask them but I can tell from their lack of eye contacts/ exceeding random talks), but the problems come when I try to make/ participate in group conversations with NT. Here are some example:
1. Today I had walked with a group of female classmates on the way to a lecture. They were talking about our previous life drawing class. I tried to follow in the topic by commenting on the model. My comment was ignored by the talker (an American), but was briefly responded by a German classmate (know not much about her except for a few conversations and daily greetings). I made further conversations solely with the German, on the same topic, who again responded just briefly. (who also actively responded to the American on the same topic) The conversation ended when we separated and I found myself walking with the German. The lecture is in a building which I had never been to, and I tried to open a conversation by mentioning that fact and the lecture itself, but failed to receive an active response. Our last dialogue was: (me)"What is this lecture about" (her)"About what he is going to say"
2. Again today, after the aforementioned lecture, I was invited into a group lunch by a female friend. There were two girls and the model from that life drawing. I quickly found that the model and a girl ignored/ briefly answered some of my talks to them, although I tried to adjust my tone in the process. The most uneasy parts came when they exchanged phone number except me, and then the girl asked me "is it time for your class?"(demanding my departure as I percieved). I was not completely alone in the conversation, for example when I mentioned to him how did that American classmate thought about him (who said "finally we get to see some dicks" in the previous conversation), I succeed in developing the conversation into a semi-joke one.
Problems which I perceived afterward:
- When I try to make my points, I found my brain suddenly went "blank", which resulted in a somehow incomplete and disorganised talks
- Uncontrollable avoid of eye contacts
- Lauguage skill - my native language is not English, but I don't perceive it as the MAIN problem coz I always ran into similar situations with Cantonese speaker
But were there other mistakes I made, and more importantly, any solutions?
After all the isolated years in high school I just want to reclaim my happy years in uni
There WILL be no isolation anymore
That's a part of normal conversation. We all do that to each other. We don't fully 100% actively respond to each and every little comment made. So we either just let the little comments go here and there or we briefly acknowledge that the person said something. Chances are, you think YOU'RE being ignored because you don't notice the others doing it to each other.
If you're on the go, such as walking in the hall and talking, this will be the case often, as the people will be more distracted by their surroundings and getting to their destination. Same thing with people who are fiddling with their cell phones, video games, or are looking for something.
Whereas if you're sitting across each other one-on-one at a cafe, you'll naturally address each other more purposefully and directly.
I wouldn't get offended, and if you're actively 100% properly responding to EACH and EVERY comment someone makes, that will be a little strange and over-eager. When someone asks/tells you something, answer with the same level of focus and enthusiasm that they're giving you. The only exception is questions - if they're asking a legitimate question, you'll want to actually answer that.
But the rule of thumb is, focus on your purpose first. If you're rushing with your companion down the hall, you're focusing on getting to class. You don't need to look at her and make eye contact. Just pant out your answer. But if you're sitting across each other eating bruschetta appetizers, you're really focusing on enjoying a lunch date with your friend, so you'll want to make eye contact and fully answer her question, rather than giving the bruschetta more attention!
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