What if I Had a Conversation Simulator?

As I was reading the New York Times over the weekend, I came across an application intended to simulate the experience of texting while driving.  More accurately, I’d say they simulated the chaotic multitasking involved in texting and driving.  Even though it wasn’t entirely realistic, it conveyed the message much better than words ever could…kind of like that picture of the smoker’s lung in my science book when I was a kid.

It made me think about how to simulate my experience of having a conversation.  It might go something like this:

1. Listen to speech and type out each word as you hear it.  At least half the words will be muffled so that you won’t be able to hear them.  Many of the words will run together.

2. There will be a person’s face on your screen.  Every time the person blinks, press Enter.  This is to test whether you are maintaining eye contact.

3. When you hear the word “blue”, you will stop typing the words you hear and start typing every association you can make with the word “blue”.

4. When the speech stops you will be asked a question about what you heard.

Whew, that’s complicated!  But I hope it conveys how much effort it takes for me to understand what people are saying (no I’m not deaf; my hearing is quite sensitive!) and keep my thoughts focused on maintaining a meaningful dialogue instead of fixating on something stupid.

I’m slowly learning over time not to do things like blurt out my response because I’m so worried I won’t be able to hold on to it until the other person is done talking.  I’ve steamrolled over quite a few surprised people that way!  I’m also learning to listen for signs that the conversation has moved on and the response I’ve been saving is staler than stale.  This is all easier in one-on-one conversations than big groups, where I usually end up feeling like Milton from Office Space.

photo | fensterbme