Do you talk more or less than when you were younger?

I think I talked more as a kid; children tend to babble, and vie more with their peers to get a word in, which gives them a feeling of control, and raises their status in the kid pecking order as someone who knows about “stuff.”

I talk less as an adult, especially in retirement, as there’s less social contact, and no work-related communication needs. Plus if you talk more to certain people, it only encourages them to talk more! I value my peace and quiet highly…there’s no use doing a lot of barking if you don’t have much to say… 🤫
 

During some periods of my childhood yes, during others no. Depended upon available others. My mother was a very popular natural chatterbox with her friends and I've got some of that in me. My dad moved a lot so I learned how to talk to unfamiliar others. However as a young adult studied proper communication and learned to balance listening and speaking as well as when to talk and when to remain silent. In the corporate work world, professionals don't have time for unnecessary blabbering nor to those with a habit of interrupting others while they are trying to speak. For most of my adult life have had little issue talking to even large groups of other strangers as am a little guy with a strong confident voice that tends to choose his words carefully just as I write. A secondary reason I'm on this forum and some others is for repeating language skills that is necessary to retain them lest they degenerate due to the way brain neural plasticity works.

As a resort solo winter snow skier, one continually sits on chairlifts with strangers from A to Z of all ages even young kids. So in winters I get plenty of practice talking with others then if they want to. And then there are other times in my life when I have been relatively isolated for months like between jobs when I took off and roamed for weeks in wilderness. In recent months due to my polycythemia vera condition, I've not had as much opportunity speaking to others so occasionally will spend an hour or two reading speaking out loud practicing clear English enunciation. Although one's brain may be able to read, think, and write language, unless one regularly practices using vocal motor brain muscles, such can degenerate leaving one slurring words.
 
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Talk a lot less to other people and a lot more to myself. When I'm outside, I pretend I'm talking to my cats so's people won't think I'm nuts. I guess I could put in ear buds and pretend I'm talking on the phone, but then I'd have to haul that cursed thing around with me, blah don't want to do that.
 
Judycat said:
Talk a lot less to other people and a lot more to myself. When I'm outside, I pretend I'm talking to my cats so's people won't think I'm nuts. I guess I could put in ear buds and pretend I'm talking on the phone, but then I'd have to haul that cursed thing around with me, blah don't want to do that.
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As someone that hikes and backpacks in wilderness, I regularly speak towards animals and birds and at home likewise to walker's pet dogs. Animals have a significant sense of other creatures looking with their eyes directly at them, facial expressions, voice, and body language that I like to think they have awareness of when I do so. Around my very urban neighborhood are many tree climbing eastern red squirrels and crows. Usually they are afraid of any others getting anywhere close to them. Interestingly most seem to be aware I am one human they don't need to run from and often look quizzically at me as I pass only say 3 feet from hearing my calm voice. In the same way, species out in nature understand what other creatures they don't need to fear and allow moving close to.
 
David777 said:
As someone that hikes and backpacks in wilderness, I regularly speak towards animals and birds and at home likewise to walker's pet dogs. Animals have a significant sense of other creatures looking with their eyes directly at them, facial expressions, voice, and body language that I like to think they have awareness of when I do so. Around my very urban neighborhood are many tree climbing eastern red squirrels and crows. Usually they are afraid of any others getting anywhere close to them. Interestingly most seem to be aware I am one human they don't need to run from and often look quizzically at me as I pass only say 3 feet from hearing my calm voice. In the same way, species out in nature understand what other creatures they don't need to fear and allow moving close to.
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I've been talking to a spider hanging out around my gate for a week or so. I just greet him by saying, hey buddy, and tell him not to worry, he's not bothering me and he can go ahead and hang there as long as he wants. He's a pretty big guy and he's always there when I use the gate so I guess he knows it's OK.
 
Childhood: My parents only talked when they couldn't communicate through telepathy. (Norse)
1st marriage: He was dominating and cruel. He yelled. I listened. I never talked.
2nd marriage: I was ALIVE! I could talk and laugh and sing and live! This was joyous!
Now: Alone. Quiet. No humans around. My dog speaks to me through telepathy.
 
MsFox said:
While I realize I have the right to remain silent, I lack the ability. However old age has me zipping it more than as a youth if you don't count talking to a computer or TV as talking. I remember as a youth that my teachers reported unanimously that I talked too much. This was confirmed at about age 10 helping a great aunt prune her orchard. Without missing a pull of the cutter rope she said, "If I could hook your cutter rope up to your lower jaw this entire orchard would have been pruned an hour ago."
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I like to go out to my workshop to talk to myself!
 

Do you talk more or less than when you were younger?​


As a child, I was not only not heard, I wasn't seen

Watched my older sister argue with the folks about wanting to do something
Me?
I just did it
Saved a lot of words....and time
I wasn't home much

Now?
Not when I'm writing

But, I'm okay around folks
it comes easy
especially if a single malt is involved

Large gatherings?
I've been a guest speaker several times
Never seems to bother me

Alone, in the shop?
I'm given to call myself a few expletives from time to time
....aaaand talk to my work
'Oh, why not?'
'Gonna be THAT way, huh'

I enjoy talking to strangers and critters

Judycat said:
I've been talking to a spider hanging out around my gate for a week or so. I just greet him by saying, hey buddy, and tell him not to worry, he's not bothering me and he can go ahead and hang there as long as he wants. He's a pretty big guy and he's always there when I use the gate so I guess he knows it's OK.
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I so love this
Thought I was the only one

Had a weird looking winged bug up at the cabin, that appeared on my workbench shelf
Chatted
He'd appear midday for weeks, seems
Just wiggling his feelers
Watching me work
Then
one day
he was gone
Maybe he morphed into something else
Maybe I accidently dropped a chunk of wood on him

Had a rather large spider greet me at the bedcovers edge one brisk cabin morning
Gave him a 'mornin'
His eyes got even bigger
Then he skittered
 
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