Dear Queenie,
My girlfriend says it’s rude to interrupt someone when they’re talking, even if you just say “yes” or “uh-huh” or “wow” or something like that. She also thinks if someone is telling you something they have already told you before it’s rude to tell them they have already told you that.
And one time during election time I got one of those phone calls about why I should vote for a certain candidate and she said I was rude when I told them I was not interested and hung up.
Queenie, is she right?—Conversation Etty Ket
Dear Etty Ket,
Saying “yes” or “uh-huh” or “wow” or something like that when someone is talking is simply conversation, to let them know you are listening to them – not rude.
If you have a habit of saying the same things and/or telling the same stories over and over again, invite your girlfriend to tell you when you are repeating yourself, rather than wasting her time and yours on unnecessary repetition.
As for the election-time call, it may have been rude, depending on your tone of voice and the way you hung up, but I cannot say I blame you for doing so, and it may have been what they call a “robocall,” so who was there to be offended?
On the other hand, in your place I would have listened more or less patiently until the caller was finished talking and then said I was not interested, thus costing the candidate time and money, just to spite him or her for bothering me and to keep him/her from bothering anyone else, for a little while at least.
