The Emotion Game

Emotion signals interest or at least attention. Song-writers and comedians try to trigger emotions.

Tonight I felt like chatting but my friend was kind of distant. I tried a snappy one liner and it back-fired. Boredom and fatigue were threatening to make things worse. A bit of explanation and a bit of emotion made things better.

We really didn't deal with anything in a detailed way. One paragraph he posted showed he understood what I was feeling. One question I posted got us talking and thinking. We weren't distant.

I was always told not to play the emotion game. It was a "cheap tactic" to get attention. That's true in a way but it depends on what sort of attention you need. If it's the look-at-me-I-am-selfish type then it is cheap. If it's the I-need-to-connect-with-you type then it can be valid.

Tonight was one of those gah-why-are-we-chatting-if-we-aren't-talking situations. A little noise and acknowledging the situation made things better.