tef

bad poster & mediocre photographer

  • they/them

"you need to make more eye contact"

and it's

"i am a fragile being and every time i open my mouth i am plagued with anxieties, often wondering to myself if i am being acknowledged, let alone understood. far from infodumping, i'm trying to gauge others interest in me, and thus my objective value as a human being.

i will look at you every time i make a dramatic pause in my dull narrative, and i never catch your eyes. i will you tell you to look at me when i'm talking, only then to say that's too much, as i do not have the faintest notion of what i actually need. i only know that you're wrong.

forgive me, i am already under a crushing amount of self awareness and understanding my own non verbal communication patterns is something i've never had to reflect on, until now.

not only do i feel ignored, i can't even begin to explain why.

p.s. that's why it's your fault.


coda:

the short version is "look at me before i pause, so i know to continue", along with "you have to judge by tone, context, and rhythm as to when i'm feeling awkward, or needing a little nudge to keep talking." plus a dash of "i have zero awareness that i am doing this, and i will only notice that you're not doing it right."


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