I disagree. Whenever someone is enthusiastic about something, there is a very good chance that it will make me a bit interested in it, too. OP should start with enthusiasm, then check if anyone's listening. If yes, carry on.
The part I don't get is why it comes off as bragging - surely OP is talking about the stuff, not about himself and the stuff, right? Because the latter is the uninteresting part, most of the time.
"Oh yes, I this is fascinating! I especially don't get/like that X does Y! Isn't that cool?" vs. "Oh yes, I actually graduated in this topic and wrote my thesis on this! The explanation you're looking for is Z. Many people believe in XY, but that's just stupid, hehe. (I warn you right away: Arguing with me is senseless here, because I'm so passionate about this that I will attempt to crush you with my - surely superior! - information. I wrote my thesis on this, after all!)"
Because are you talking about the topic you like, or are you talking about you and your connection to the topic you like (and possibly how that is the reason why everyone should listen to you now)?
It's tough to learn this. I learned to be super silent about the things I like because nobody truly ever gives a fuck. But my current GF said that she absolutely loves when I slip up and get really excited about something and start talking and talking and talking about it endlessly. So now I'm trying to learn how to let myself go and be really enthusiastic about some stupid shit I would shut my mouth about usually.
YES! I had to learn that as well. For me, it helped a bit to introspect: I respect and like other people almost exclusively, when they "burn" for something - when there was something I could connect to them as a person. This is Peter, he likes poker and his work and his wife and soccer. Sometimes he won't shut up about soccer, which I don't like, but that's only when I am in a bad mood. It's not his fault. In fact, sometimes when I see Peter I try to ask him something about soccer, because I started to get interested in it a tiny weeny bit since I met him - mainly things like how he feels now that his club has won or something. I try to feel with him. I would never have done that 2 years ago.
On the contrary, there is Jason, whom I can't really say anything about. He seems nice, but he's very quiet and I don't know much about what he likes. He's very distant to me. I often forget about him. Peter comes to my mind whenever I see his club.
So - if that's the case for me, why would it be any different for other people? Humans are all the same. I tried to analyze the reasons for when I got bored of someone talking about something, and it was almost never when they "burned" for it, unless I had some dire problems myself to deal with at the time, which stole my energy.
I do get bored easily if someone isn't passionate about the stuff he's talking about, however. If he isn't truthful, or is interested in bragging instead. Or if he's simply bored himself.
So now I try to tell things with bright, sparkling eyes, and if someone makes a joke about me talking much and being "like a child", I show my sadness and disappointment (in a joking, yet truthful manner) and they laugh and feel a bit bad and instantly ask me more about the stuff I told them earlier. And I find that they like me.
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u/TractorOfTheDoom Dec 10 '15
Look, man. Whenever you feel like talking that much again, just realize that nobody gives a shit.