Fake conversations

Can a conversation be fake? You bet it can be! It happens all around us, all the time. Each one of us would have taken part in it at some point of time. The matter is, it would have been necessary, say at a professional level or dealing with an acquaintance. But ever had it with someone you were friends with, or at least you thought so?

Moving on, here are a few ways to determine when it is being faked:

Hello : Oh yeah, you can spot it right at this stage. It comes with much effort, since your number would have displayed for sometime in the other person's mobile, while the person would have been wondering whether to pick it up or not. There is a slight strain in the voice, as if this simple greeting wasn't intentional and was out of habit or forced rather than choice.

When topics run out: I have never believed in "preparing" for a telephonic conversation. If you are at ease with the person on the other end, the conversation should flow. Right? So the easiest give away is when you discover yourself hunting for topics to prolong the conversation. Why wouldn't you just rather end it? You would usually, but sometimes you just want to hang on, hoping that it's just a matter of time before the ease sets back in. It doesn't.

The pregnant pauses - The most difficult parts to deal with. After a well scripted QnA session which keeps moving back and forth like two amateurs' table tennis match, come these breaks in the conversation. You expect the blow to finally fall,something on the terms of "Let's stop pretending, I am not interested in talking to you anymore" , but alas, social creatures that we are, the charade continues.

The end - melodramatic choice of words, as usual? Not this time. I actually mean the end of the call. The mere artificiality of "let's catch up sometime" or "take care" makes me cringe. Catch what? If talking for five minutes came across as such a torture, you really expect me to believe that it will be much better in person. When the lies will be even more apparent, the shifty eyes, the "so..what else?" more pathetic than ever before.

Maybe it was a hint to me. Maybe it was a sign. Maybe I need to shut up.