I took four flights yesterday. On three of them, my seatmate started talking to themselves. Not a deep, philosophical conversation, but just continuous commentary every now and then. And in the end, all three of them ended up starting a conversation with me. This leads me to believe that the reason they were talking to…
Continue reading: Is talking to yourself the new way to start a conversation on an airplane?
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Actually tapping you on the shoulder is impressive. Not sure I've ever had that happen.
I'm generally anti-talk, though there have been a few times when I couldn't help making some snide comment about a PA announcement, which subsequently led to a conversation... 🙂 Don't think it's happened in reverse.
I'll preface this with saying I haven't seen Dinner for Schmucks yet but I have seen my fair share of French movies that were remade for the English market. It usually doesn't work. The American version of "Taxi" was a complete and utter flop yet there were 4 of the French ones. "Diner de cons" is a great movie btw.
That is a little brazen to tap you on the shoulder. For the most part, I am anti-talk as well.
I've never had somebody tap me on the shoulder, but I have had some people that use an in-flight event, such as turbulence, to start a conversation. Flying on a UX E170 from MSY-ORD, we hit a pocket of heavy turbulence, which really shook the plane, and caused a few people to scream. The guy next to me had some weird reaction, and grabbed my arm 😮 Moments later he apologized, and we got into the story about my being a then 1P, and how I would be 1K at the end of the month, and FT, etc...
In some cultures its quite alright to talk to yourself, and it might be quite rude to "interrupt" their conversation with themselves. Since planes as usually full of people from all over the world, you never know who you'll be sitting next to.
When traveling TO a conference, I prefer not to talk, as I'm usually reading journal articles. When traveling FROM a conference, my happiest flights are when I find myself seated next to a friendly fellow female traveler who has nothing in common with my work. The conversation and laughter are a perfect way to decompress from an intensive meeting. I would never tap someone on the shoulder to start a conversation, though!
The ones who drive me a little crazy are those seatmates who simply fail to bring any entertainment, so then want to chat throughout the flight.