So you describe a bunch of different people and grouped them together. I get where you are coming from, but I also want to be fair to both sides involved.
It really annoys me when people corner you at a social event and drone on and on about things you have zero interest in.
Yeah, I get to the point in social settings where people nonstop talking to me grows tiresome especially if it's over something I deem superficial (like talking about hair dying for a few minutes is totally fine, but if it goes on for a half hour, I want to change topic).
Like unnecessary gossip about people you don't even know,
These are "the gossips." Some have bad intentions, some are indifferent to how their comments affect other people, and others have no idea they're doing anything wrong...It's just carrying out an interesting conversation to them.
constant 'I'm so great' comments (fishing for praise),
So these people are often super insecure. On one hand it makes me uncomfortable when I know someone is fishing for compliments, but on the other, I figure the person needs to hear something positive about themselves for whatever reason, and I will oblige as long as I don't have to lie. I also want to mention that a single conversation with someone is more of a snapshot of them in that moment rather than them as a whole. Most of us get in the mood to hear some nice things about ourselves from other people. We all crave a little external validation.
details about their daily life that you don't need to know (mundane useless facts).
Does all conversation have to be useful to you in someway? People like talking about themselves. It may not impact or help you to know where someone went out to lunch that day, but it's a way to keep the conversation going. Seemingly superficial or mundane comments about someone's day can lead to a deeper conversation. I.e. "You ate at Hibachi? I went there last week for my husband's birthday dinner."
Superficial/mundane conversation is necessary. It helps you establish a foundation for understanding the other person and how the communicate. After that deeper conversations can occur comfortably.
They don't know how to zip it for even ten seconds let alone look for signs that I'm even interested. Honestly, I wish I could just disappear sometimes!
Not everyone is good at listening or picking up on social cues. Plus, lots of people actually enjoy some of the aforementioned types of conversations.
But the devils advocate in me feels guilty and I remain polite and just keep on listening(or at least pretend to). Sometimes I would like to care a lot less about hurting other people's feelings. It may be the death of me one day!
Yep. As long as you don't want to be rude, you're going to have to deal with it. There are a lot of ways you can help things go better for you though: Politely excuse yourself because you absolutely need to talk to that person over there before they leave or you forget, change the conversation topic, ask questions that interest you, find (or make) an introverted friend , etc.
I just got home from a party where this happened... the silence now is amazing!
Silence at last! I know the feeling.
