No, the headline of this article is not a joke and not an exaggeration: it is my biggest pet peeve when I need to constantly say something to you repeatedly. Why you might ask?
There are several reasons why it bothers me so much, but I will be covering the two biggest reasons why it does. So, let's all sit back, kick back, relax, and read this article.
Pay attention…I will only say this once.
The main reason that repeating myself is bothersome for me is because I don't feel like the person is listening to me when I am talking to them. Obviously, in a conversation, two people are conversing with each other and exchanging dialogue and thoughts, but I feel like the person should be paying attention to what I am saying. This isn't to say everyone I talk to makes me feel like this, but when you say something, the message should not go in one ear and out the other. An infamous example of this is that I was once talking to my father about the job I work during summers and I mentioned to him about my closing procedure. I told him that when I close the store, I need to make sure all the carts are in the store, all the products are nicely organized, and take out the trash.
A couple minutes later, he asked me what I do to close the store. With a soft but irritated sigh, I repeated the closing procedure to him again. The next evening when I came home from work, I told him I was a little late because I was closing the store. He asked me "How long does it take to close the store? What do you do?" As I reluctantly and frustratingly retold him my closing job…again, parts of my mind were telling me to raise my voice and give him an idea that I do not like having to say the same thing to him more than once.
What can be done to avoid this in the future? Something I have been trying to do is write down what I do each day on a piece of paper and stick it to the fridge and text what I do to my parents. While I am away at college, I don't need to worry about it because my roommates don't care about what I do. However, I live with my parents when I am home for summer. By having my day written out to them, it should be able to avoid any uncertainty in the future, they don't have to be reminded constantly about what I am doing, and I don't have to be the one reminding them of it.
The second and final reason why this is a pet peeve to me is that even if the person I am speaking to hears me, why should I have to explain the point I just made again? Similar to the previous reason, it falls under a means of them not listening to me, but this time the person clearly heard you and still need what you said repeated. Now, sometimes this could be a positive cause. Say for example (not that this ever happened to me), you're presenting a project or an essay in front of your class and your professor is paying close attention to you. Meanwhile, the class is taken out of your lecture and have zoned out. You come to a point in your presentation that your professor finds to be crucial to the class. With the class zoned out, the professor gets the class' attention and he goes "Would you remind repeating what you just said so the class can hear you again?"
While that is certainly an instance where repeating yourself can be seen as a good thing, the fact is that you still had to make your point again. There are exceptions, such as hearing damage or disabilities, but this is still a valid reason why I don't like having to repeat myself.
So why is it that I often need to repeat myself? Sometimes it is my fault and sometimes it isn't. How would it be my fault you might ask? Sometimes, I tend to speak softly and sometimes I tend to mumble words and sentences like a 90's grunge singer. This is something I have had trouble with as well but that's another topic. How it isn't my fault is that sometimes the person does not have the best listening skills and what I say to them does not register.
Do you understand why I do not like repeating myself now? It's frustrating and when you take the time to explain something to someone, they could at least listen to you and acknowledge what you said. Other times, you are the source of it and there are ways you can fix it. There also ways that other people can fix it. I hope you enjoyed reading this article and thank you for reading…or listening.
