Do you listen or wait to talk?

I've been having what some would call discussion, while other's would call full contact debates, with some people lately. While I've enjoyed these chats they ultimately get a little frustrating for me. One source of my frustration is that these people either don't have a point to the ramblings or they make their point and then keep going and going and going. Ahhhh!

Another Source of my frustration is that they demand that they not be interrupted while they are talking, but then feel not problem interrupting me when I am attempting to destroy the 9 car interstate pile up that is their argument. But ultimately, my greatest frustration in these debates is that I AM NOT TALKING. Yeah, I said it, I want to talk. While I enjoy when you contribute to the conversation, it gets me from one point to the next, really, I just want to talk.

These recent debates remind me of high school when teachers tried to get a little deep with us by asking, "When you are in a conversation, do you listen or do you wait to talk?"

Now we all know the answer they want us to say and when you are in High School it is just easier to agree with them and get back to waiting for the bell to ring. They want us so bad to say that we truly listen to what other people say. It is all an attempt to get us to actually listen and maybe even become better human beings which would validate their role as shaper of young minds. Of course they are right, people should listen to what others have to say. They should truly listen and think about what they just heard and not just wait for an opening in the conversation so that spout their bullshit.

However, I have always had a problem with the "listening" theory of conversation. You see, I will admit here and now that I don't listen like I should, but instead I wait to talk. I do this because because I what I say is more important than what you say. Not only is it more important it is more informative, more entertaining, smarter and it has the added benefit of just being right. I'm not saying that anyone else should take the "wait to talk" position in conversations, no just me. When everyone else talks is just a bunch of regurgitated nonsense that they picked up from hearing half a story on NPR or by skimming through a friend's Facebook posting or a fleeting memories of what their Sociology professor said. An amalgamation of nonsense.

While I launch into you with an array of wit and charm backed up with knowledge and wisdom. I am more than will tell you what is the correct way to think and do it in such a way that you will be informed, you will laugh and you will go away know the correct position on the issue we are discussing. I mean the other person in a conversation with me is truly the lucky one.

Yeah, I have no ego here. I'm just trying to pass on to you the sum of me and my views on life. Now that we have that clear up, what shall we address next?

Oh yeah, I realize that my humor doesn't always come through in the written form. So I'm kind of being sarcastic, but I'm kind of not.